We're Going on a Lion Hunt by David Axtell

Publisher: Square Fish
Age range: 2 - 6 Years
Product dimensions: 8.46 (w) x 10.38 (h) x 0.21 (d)

Overview

This charming version of a well-known chant takes place on the African savanna.

We're going on a lion hunt.

We're going to catch a big one.

We're not scared.

Been there before.

In this beautifully illustrated rendition of a well-known children's chant, two sisters are looking not for a bear, but for a lion-a lion that lives on the African savanna, where the girls go through swishy swashy long grass, a splishy splashy lake, and a Big Dark Cave. When they finally meet their lion, they have to run, run, run through it all again to get back home.

Young readers will enjoy the playful language and beautiful paintings that reset a familiar story in an unusual and very special part of the world.

Two girls set out bravely in search of a lion, going through long grass, a swamp, and a cave before they find what they're looking for.

Review

School Library Journal

PreS-Axtell takes a storytime classic to the African savanna, where loving sisters enjoy a day's adventure. With fruit, juice, and teddy bear in hand, they travel through towering green grasses under the watchful eye of a giraffe, swim through a dappled blue lake with zebras and a flamingo, and pull each other through a squishy swamp unbeknownst to a hippopotamus. They wake the lion sleeping in his cave, and as he follows them, they arrive home and shut the door safely. The adventure has neither dampened their spirits nor muddied their white anklets. Axtell's sun-soaked, impressionistic oil paintings offer beautiful landscapes and engaging details, from wild animals who linger at a safe distance, to a dropped teddy that is retrieved just in time. Large figures on the page make this a good choice for storytimes as well as lap times.