The Butterfly Lion

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He fought as a soldier, but became a real hero for keeping a special promise and for saving the lion from a life in a cage.

I bought this book for my nine year old granddaughter after she had read Kensukes Kingdom from the school library. I especially like the relationship between the old lady and the boy which is both polite and respectful - very refreshing in todays age.A British boy and a white lion cub form a bond in turn-of-the-century South Africa, and when years later, the now grown-up boy sees the lion's image on a circus poster, he vows to find his friend again. The tale follows the young boy who meets a number of people, the most important of which is an old lady who tells the boy a story of her (and her husbands) life, this is where the lion also comes in to it. The story explores the childhood of Bertie in Africa, his move to Britain, his friendship with Millie as well as his participation in World War Two. for example,not greiving at your father's death because you 'didn't know him well enough to love him' and like how the white lion almost instantly recognized his master at once, after all those years .

They have three farms in Devon, Wales and Gloucestershire, open to inner city school children who come to stay and work with the animals. Years later and now a soldier in France during WWI, he sees a poster for a circus with a white lion on it and he succeeds in tracking him down.Michael is good at using his imagination thats why I like his books but out of all the books he's written The Butterfly lion is the best. It always deals with the issue of loneliness, no doubt experienced by many children, especially those who are enduring life at a boarding school where they might be a relative outsider.

Some are black-and-white and kinda frame the text, others are full-colour illustrations that sometimes even span double-pages.

The book, I was happy to discover, takes its time showing us Bertie's life in Africa, how lonely he was, and then how his friendship with the lion blossomed and he learned about companionship. Many years later, Bertie was fighting for England in the Great War in France, when he saw a poster with a white lion on it advertising a nearby circus. It may be difficult to remember sometimes,but there's always sun behind the clouds,and the clouds do go in the end. I can see why they opted to also tell this story on stage, it has all the hallmarks of a great story that appeals to people of all ages.