Never lie on a lion by Alan James Brown

Ill. by Barbara Vagnozzi. Bloomsbury, 2012. ISBN 978 1 4088 1844 2.
(Ages: 3+) Recommended. Picture book. Animals. Supported by ZSL (the Zoo Society of London) this bright, cheerful book introduces younger readers to some of the animals they might see in a zoo. With the catchy refrain on each page beginning with 'Never', each sentence uses alliteration to underline the point the sentence is making, humerously warning the younger reader what not to do when with an animal.
An example, is 'Never share a cake with a great big snake'. The sentence begins with the word, 'Never', then uses rhyme to end the sentence. Over the page is another refrain, beginning with 'But do', giving a rhyming sentence with a positive spin (But do run a mile from a crocodile) On the verso is the sentence, while on the recto, is the animal and the sound it may make, encouraging the listener to make that noise and join in.
Each page has bold, clear print with bright breezy illustrations, all designed to encourage the child to join in with the story, the sounds and the illustrations. The easy rhymes encourage young children to predict the next words, while the alliteration adds to the fun of reading the book. This is one of three recent publications under the auspices of ZSL.
Fran Knight