The Lion Who Had Asthma

by Jonathan London, Nadine Bernard Westcott (Illustrator)

Overview

Sean roars like a lion. But the lion who is Sean has asthma, and suddenly it's hard for him to breath. The whole family pitches in to help deliver the treatment, and soon Sean is King of the Jungle again—roaring louder than ever.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807545607
Publisher:	Whitman, Albert & Company
Publication date:	01/01/1992
Series:	Albert Whitman Prairie Paperback
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,139,540
Product dimensions:	8.63(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Nadine Bernard Westcott has illustrated more than eighty books for children. She lives in Massachusetts with her family and one cat.

Editorial Reviews

"Although this title seems drippingly allegorical, the story is actually honest, light, and direct. A fine collaborative effort between author and illustrator, it delivers a believable picture of a preschool boy who has a freewheeling imagination, supportive parents, asthma, and a life that works well."—School Library Journal

"For children who have asthma, or know someone who has it, this cheerful book should be reassuring; creative enough to be fun, it's still clear enough to be useful, while Sean's calm, sensible parents set a fine example. Westcott's colorful, lightly sketched illustrations deftly express Sean's feelings through his own body language and that of his animal friends."—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

PreS-Gr 2-- Although this title seems drippingly allegorical, the story is actually honest, light, and direct. A fine collaborative effort between author and illustrator, it delivers a believable picture of a preschool boy who has a freewheeling imagination, supportive parents, asthma, and a life that works well. Playing in the bathtub, Sean is a hippo; eating broccoli, he is a giant who crunches trees between his teeth. During an attach of asthma, the lion of his fantasy stops roaring and wheezes, feels tired, and wants to cry. His mother shows up with a nebulizer, but Sean is the one who turns it on, and as he breathes deeply, he becomes a jet pilot. Wescott's clean-looking watercolor-and-ink illustrations take the story's action to places where text would have been limiting, and capture the positive feeling London's tone demands. A preliminary note is frank and encouraging. The expression of relaxation as an important tool for managing illness, and the emphasis on the value of children's natural imagination is simple, strong, and empowering. London also introduces some basic information and terminology. --Liza Bliss, formerly at Leominster Public Library, MA

School Library Journal