Book Review: Christian The Lion (book, movie, event)(OT)

Christian the Lion, by Anthony Bourke and John Rendall (Random House, $14.99HB, 2009, 128pp, ages 8-12) Review by Skye Anderson

I picked up Christian the Lion and devoured it, knowing it was only representative of all the books and documentaries out there about this famous lion - and even a video of the reunion two years after Christian was set free in Africa. Who has not heard of Christian or of Elsa, the star of Born Free (also a movie in 1966), Living Free and Forever Free?

But do you know the rest of the story?

In 1969, two Australians went shopping in Harrod's, a London department store, and met a lion cub. Wanting to give  him a better life, they purchased Christian and kept him for a few months, before moving to the British countryside and eventually, with the help of George Adamson (who had lived with Elsa a few years previously), transported the lion to Kenya, Africa, and helped acclimate him to the life of a wild lion.

This particular book, written for children, by the two Australians is an eye-opener and nearly a tear-jerker, relating the close bond between this animal and his two humans. They played together and eventually the men decided it would not be fair to keep a lion in any sort of captivity, so they made the hard decision.

With an adorable cover photo and ending with facts about lions, three other lions in particular (Aslan, Elsa and The Cowardly Lion) and information about the other four of the Big Five African Animals (leopard, rhino, elephant and Cape Buffalo), this book covers it all. Even though the pages of color photos of mostly Christian don't seem to relate the major events of the three friends this or any book about Christian is bound to be food for thought.