Book Review: The Lion's Deceit

The Lion's Deceit is a beautifully illustrated book about a lazy lion who goes against his real nature by tricking other animals so he can get some food without hunting.



The author, Mpho Otukile, grew up in Botswana and remembered evenings sitting in front of an open fire listening to the village elders tell this and other stories. These stories were told to instill moral lessons in life. She now lives in Winnipeg, Canada and is writing down the stories to pass on to her daughter and to share them with other children.

As I sat down with my children this week to read the book, we were all excited by the beautiful pictures and the intriguing title. I have to admit that, though the summary mentioned that the lion ate other animals, I was initially a bit surprised by his actions. I was afraid that my children were, too, but they did not seem to have any issues with the lion eating animals. When I asked Mustang she reminded me that is what lions do, mom. My husband later reminded me of other stories such as Henny Penny and The Three Little Pigs where animals are also eaten. So, I apparently overreacted a bit lol.

The moral to the story was excellent and there were many other morals and lessons that could be taught through out the story. Some of these include: working hard, being honest, and being careful.

It is always neat to introduce stories from other cultures into our library. In addition to discussing the morals of the story, my children and I discussed where Botswana was and the idea of sitting around a camp fire listening to stories. I was able to share with them my own experiences of sitting and listening to singing when I was in Ghana, and of listening to stories by campfire at summer camps. It is fun to discuss the similarities and differences in our cultures.

Overall, I would give this story about a 4 out of 5. My children really enjoyed it and have asked me to read it again. I have also found Mustang trying to read it herself.

If you would like to purchase a copy of The Lion's Deceit for your own library, you can purchase an autographed copy from Village Life Books. The price is just $10.00! Or, you can take advantage of a 10% off discount (off 11.99) by ordering from Createspace. Use coupon code 2LU4EXJM to receive the discount.

And, if you already have this book in your library, you may want to know that Ms. Otukile has plans to release a second book, The Elephant's Pride in 2012!!

God Bless!!!

This is a Mama Buzz review. Thank you to Village Life Books for providing my family with a copy of The Lion's Deceit for review. All opinions expressed are my own.