I'd give this story book 7 stars out of 5 if I could! (And I've only said that once before!!)

Even before you open the cover of this book there's so much to think about & see! Is that a bite taken out of the cover illustration? How did that happen? Whose ears are sticking out in the corner?

Is that a lion or a pirate with an eye patch & wooden leg? And, oh my gosh, what happened to the forest?

”Once upon a time, there was a story in this book.

But a LION ate it all.”

With such an unusual opening line, you know you're in for a great storytime read! What's going to happen if the lion already ate the story? Will the pages be empty? Are there any words left?

With so many imaginative details to find in the illustrations by Andrea Stegmaier, leave extra time either during or after reading to enjoy them! This story is full of surprises & great fun sculpted with such care by the words of Karl Newson.

The rhyming element is quirky, fun & clever - not at all predictable - such a refreshing & welcome bonus!

The illustrations are bold & colourful but not too busy on the page that you get lost & can't decide where to look.
The use of repetition doesn't overtake the story but is very effective. There's even a chance to create your own fun memory game out of one of the visually wonderful double-page spreads.

A fun, playful story with a real message about friendship & also about being yourself. It presents so many opportunities for conversation with children, wrapped up in the best crazy adventure.

This is a book I can imagine reading over & over again & seeing something different every time. It's a great read-aloud story for groups & also for youngsters developing their reading skills.

Such a fun treasure!

I requested and received an e-ARC of this book from Karl Newson and Quatro Publishing Group – words & pictures through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a cute, rhyming book about a lion that thinks he needs to act a certain way because he is a lion and wants to be called king. I love when the rabbit enters the scene and recaps all the rhyming we have heard up to that point in the book, and then the rabbit calls the lion out. Love the illustrations they are fun.

A delightful and whimsical story about learning to be yourself and not trying to live up to others' expectations. Wonderfully vivid and energetic illustrations that pull you in to the tale and provide laughs as well as insight into the characters.

Karl Newson has several books under his belt and a further few more on the way. They are always charming and funny, and sometimes have an eccentric twist!
“Once upon a time, there was a story in this book...but a lion ate it all up”

With such a fabulous start to the story, how can you resist? In we jump to find that every page has seen the lion come stomping through, biting and chomping on scenes, characters and words. However, the rabbit and the reader go on the hunt for the lion, who is still hiding in the book.
As the reader, we can see the lion but Rabbit sees pirates and dragons gold instead. I can imagine the shouts of children as they spot the lion on each page. Brilliant illustrations will guide the reader to find the lion, and we will stand behind the rabbit as he faces up to the lion!

Of course, it may get worse for the Rabbit before it gets better and there is a funny scene where the lion begins to feel a bit ill!
Can the brave Rabbit stand up to the lion and will the lion see the error of his ways?

An excellent book on courage, friendships and fun! The vocabulary used to describe the lion is super and will prompt plenty of discussions in class,

This is an adorable little book with beautiful illustrations and lyrical rhymes. Loved the colors and layout as well, and think kids from babies to grade schoolers will love learning what to do "if you see a lion!" Will definitely be adding to our personal library and giving as gifts in the future!

I enjoyed the illustrations of this book and the overall message, but I think the idea could have been better executed. There were parts that did not seem to work together.

I received free advanced copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The lion ate the story, and well just about everything else. If you see a lion, you must remember to yell. This is such an entertaining book that can keep keeps laughing for a long time. It would be awesome to have it in a classroom and get all the kids participating.

A charming rhyming tale of how a lion ate the story right out of the book. I chuckled to myself while reading. An adorable and quirky story about how you should be you and not a stereotypical version of yourself. The cadence of this one will have little ones giggling and wanting to find every hidden detail on every page.

My boys would love this book! The rhyming verses are fun and the illustrations are very vibrant! I love that the big, tough lion who eats everything decides to be true to himself and that his friends accept him for who he is!

A very fun and engaging story with beautiful illustrations. I loved the message that the king does not need to be 'evil and scary' to be a king. He can be himself and still rule the jungle.

In this book a lion is disguised, so we have to keep an eye out for him. The disguised lion travels and eats things, from mountains to people and animals, he swallows them whole. Then a rabbit stands up to the lion. When rabbit gets eaten, he makes the lion pop and out comes everything the lion has eaten. The lion admits he ate people because he wanted to be the "King" and doesn't know how to do it otherwise. The rabbit tells him he can be king of fancy dress, and should always be himself.

I found it a bit muddled to be honest. The illustrations were amazing, incredible detail, bright colour, they really captivated my son. But the message seemed way too confusing for readers in the 3-6 age range, which is where I would place this book and to be honest, I'm a bit tired of animals that eat everyone in young kids books, as it's honestly more scary a theme than I'd like to give to a three year old and I had to spend a lot of time explaining the people were okay and the lion wasn't really eating people, and he wasn't going to get eaten by a lion!

5/5 for the illustrations, and I like the moral of the book, that you should be yourself, but I'm only giving 3/5 total because I didn't find the execution of the message that effective. I don't think we will read it again.

Disclosure: I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and it was read to a three year old to get his opinion too!

This is a book that young children are sure to enjoy. Lion has been gobbling up everything in sight. Our narrator warns you of lion’s mischief. This had an unexpected message to be unique and be yourself.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."
I like the overall message of it's ok to be yourself, and you don't have to conform to what society expects you to be. Cute little picture book.

A fun concept with a bizarre twist ending. The rhythm of the text and charming illustrations pair nicely together, but the ending didn’t make sense to me; it felt like two different stories cut in half and attached to each other.

"If You See a Lion" is an adorable and fun new book from author, Karl Newson. The book is all about a lion who gets himself into a little bit of trouble by snacking on the creatures and things around him. Throughout the book, readers are encouraged to point out the lion if they see him which is a fun activity and keeps the book interactive. Our young ones loved pointing at the lion and laughing when he was called something else. The illustrations were fun and inviting for all ages of readers too! This book was a fun read that brought out some giggles and conversation while reading which is always a plus! Well done!

This is the story of a Lion.

”Once upon a time,
there was a story
in this book.

But a LION ate it all.”

And so he goes about eating, one by one, a TOOT-ing oompah band, a penguin and a troll, a dragon and a sprite, a river and a mountain peak… If you see a lion, don’t forget to shriek!

Rabbit is following him as he walks about eating everything, everyone in his path, finally sneaking up behind him and yelling LION! and Lion tells Rabbit to jump into his mouth and he’ll keep him safe and sound there from You-know-who. But Rabbit isn’t fooled, and tells him that he knows what happened to his friends and he’s come to ”get them out.

Once out, they ask him why he ate up everything and everyone, to which Lion responds -Why? Because I can of course! That’s why they call me King.

Rabbit tells Lion that he should just be himself, be his own kind of cat, but Lion is afraid that he’ll no longer be King, and then he’ll be all alone. Rabbit tells him that he can be a different kind of King.

This would make a wonderful read-aloud book, written in rhyme that is a fun addition for those being read to, the kind of book, like Goodnight, Moon, which parents will have memorized before long.


Pub Date: 18 Aug 2020


Many thanks for the ARC provided by Quarto Publishing Group / words & pictures via NetGalley

#IfYouSeeaLion #NetGalley

Certainly a fun read, this didn't quite deliver what I expected. It's a picture book in verse, and right away admits a lion has been eating things from off the pages, and so we better beware in case it's still there. The script then does a bit of a U-turn and decides to tell us that it's not so important whether the lion is there, but whether the lion is happy within himself. I don't really object to the moral, but I do think the work was more fun when it was being archly meta as at the beginning. Still, it is certainly quite clever that the peculiar approach to the narrative can be turned on its head to, you know, present something more useful alongside entertainment. Four stars, then, only slightly grudgingly, given.

First I am going to say that the illustrations and the cover seemed wonderful to me, they give you that great peculiarity that did not make me look away from the book, it has a very nice edition, I feel that it fits the story.
The story was beautiful and teaches you not to compromise on perceptions and just be yourself.
A read that children can enjoy, and highly recommended.

A very cute and funny story about a lion. I thought that this was a cute and quirky book and the main message of not giving into perceptions and just being yourself, was a great one for kids! I am sure kids will love to read this book! The artwork is absolutely charming and the story is fun!

While I'm a little over picture books in which the protagonist ends up eating all the other characters, If You See a Lion is a cute rhyming story with adorable illustrations, great descriptive words and a fair amount of onomatopoeia. These aspects make it a perfect read aloud for younger grade levels and for teaching literary elements to younger students as well.