The Happy Lion accompanying Francois to see the Bear in order to protect him. There are many little awesome animal to human tidbits. Soon Francois, the zoo keeper's son, arrives anticipating a new found friend in Bear. I'd have liked to know what made him so angry, especially when you have a lion as Happy as out main character. For whatever reason, the 'why' of the Bear's displeasure is never stated. The Bear isn't very pleased with the Happy Lion and he lets him know. There were several showings of this, the first being her reminder to her 'husband' not to get too close to the bear. I liked how her actions so closely resembled a human wife. The Happy Lion's wife was my favorite character. The Happy Lion is indeed, quite happy, and he immediately decides to pay the new Bear a visit. The Happy Lion lives in a zoo and he hears about a new Bear who has come to live in the same zoo. I wouldn't go out of my way to buy the book or tell a friend to read it but it's made a decent addition to our weekly reading. I felt a little uneasy about dated features including the premise of a lion alone in captivity and the mention of and presence of guns, overall though The Happy Lion left me with a fond feeling toward the lion’s character and the satisfaction of a classic tale.We found this in the library this week and the cover caught my eye. It certainly lives up as classic children’s literature. The story is written wonderfully and illustrated with beautiful loose inked lines, textures and a muted colour palette. I also loved the use of French language throughout the book as did my children who repeated ‘ bonjour Happy Lion’ and ‘ au revoir’ in their best French accents. I love how The Happy Lion shows that context and surroundings can change people’s emotions and responses in different situations. Luckily for the lion a familiar face calmly redirects and resolves the situation.

When the Lion’s keeper leaves his door open one day, the lion decides to visit the townspeople to return their kindness and say hello, but the response is not what the lion is used to yelling and screaming prevail, as does confusion and a potentially dangerous situation for the Happy Lion. ‘ Bonjour Happy Lion’ they would say across the water and he would cheerfully wave and smile in return.

In a zoo, in the middle of town lives the Happy Lion, unperplexed that he is surrounded by a moat and fence, the Lion is pleased to be greeted daily by townspeople going about their business. Originally published in 1954, The Happy Lion is a classic story of a cheerful, friendly Lion set in France.

The Happy Lion by Louise Fatio