Little lion by Saroo Brierley

Illus. by Bruce Whatley. Puffin Books, 2020. ISBN: 9780143795094.
(Age: 6+) Highly recommended. The incredible true story of Saroo Brierley's life is presented in this edition for younger readers, stunningly illustrated by Bruce Whatley. With 80,000 children going missing in India each year, five year old Saroo was one of many who arrived at Kolkata railway station, not knowing where he was. Falling asleep on a train the night before, he woke to find himself locked in, travelling on the train until it reached Kolkata where he was able to escape. Luckily another child took him to the police station, and from there he went to an orphanage and thence to Australia with his adoptive parents.
All the while Saroo dreamed of his home town, his mother and siblings, his house and his streets where he lived. When at university in Canberra he befriended Indian students and they encouraged him in his search using Google Maps. Over a number of years, his search continued until one night following yet another train line, he saw the water tank near his house, the bridge where he played and recognised the village where he lived.
From there he went to India to find his family, and after a small hiccup, was reunited with his mother and several of his siblings. His brother whom he loved to distraction had gone missing the same night as Saroo, an incredible double blow for his family.
Children will love reading of Saroo and his search for his family, strengthening the ties that bind us all. Brierley's tale is laudatory in its strong theme of family, as he finds that they never forgot him and welcomed his return, just as he never forgot them.
Whatley uses a range of techniques to present the story, including pastel and pencil, creating pages filled with colour, accompanied by smaller pencil illustrations underneath the text. The darker colours used to create the background of life in India, particularly when he is lost on the train, contrast with the Australian light and the colour filled pages when he finds his family. The struggle of people fitting onto the train at Kolkata station must have been overwhelming for a five year old boy from a tiny village, and this image like others n the book will create talking points for children reading of Saroo.
Subtitled, A long way home, readers will be in awe of the journeys Saroo took: locked on a train, the struggle to survive in Kolkata, living in an orphanage, the voyage to a new life in Australia, and the search for his family, followed by another journey back to India, each journey plucking at the readers' heartstrings.
Theme: India, Adoption, Homeless, Children. Loss, Village life, Google maps.
Fran Knight