Love: The Lion (LOVE HC) - Hardcover

BOOKLIST (STARRED) -- A lion's life is not an easy one, and the third volume of the nature-focused Love series follows a solitary young male as he tries to fend for himself in the forests and plains of the Serengeti. Driven by hunger and loneliness, the lion wanders the changing landscape, finding food where he can and defending himself against attackers as he searches for the safety and stability that comes with a pride's large numbers. Framed by memories from his youth, this lion's story follows just one day, yet contains a lifetime of experience. While the wordless narrative is impressive in its emotional range and depth of character, Bertolucci's illustrations are an absolute marvel. Exquisitely rendered in lushly colored panels, they capture an entire ecosystem from the smallest of creatures to the largest link in a complex food chain. The deaths of creatures in the wild can be violent and intense, but they are realistically rendered and so firmly set within the larger framework of natural order one can almost hear David Attenborough narrating the panels for the reader. Beautifully produced in both concept and execution, this brief window into the world of nature is highly recommended for all graphic novel collections.



KIRKUS -- The companion to Love: The Fox and Love: The Tiger (both 2015) takes its setting on the African savanna, where a male lion travels on the fringes of a pride. Sepia-toned panels establish back story: a lioness downs a Thomson's gazelle and is chased away from her prey by a big male, who snarls to drive away a young cub. The story proper opens as that cub, now grown, slinks alone in the rain to come across a pride, spars with one of its males and appears to best it, but then leaves, revolving around but never part of the pride for the rest of the book. Bertolucci's trademark lush paintings arranged in wordless, cinematic panels depict the lion's travels across spectacular savanna scenery populated by zebras, wildebeests, giraffes, and other fauna. Violence is depicted unflinchingly but without sensationalism. A moment of humor occurs when some cubs play a game of “ball” with a rolled-up pangolin. In one striking sequence, an airplane crashes in a fiery wreck; the lions observe but move on. In contrast to its predecessors, this tale, though accurately reflecting lion society, is visually hard to parse. The protagonist lion is distinguishable from the others only by his darker mane, and it may take readers two or three trips through to understand his relationship to the pride. The story's interpretation of the concept of “love” is murkier still. Astonishingly beautiful but narratively obscure. (Graphic adventure. 10 & up)

Gr 6 Up—Brrémaud continues his series (previous books include The Tiger and The Fox) with this visually stunning wordless tale of a lion searching for his pride. The author takes readers deep into the Serengeti, as the lion passes many animal families who look at him with hostility. Brrémaud makes sharp comparisons between the lion's situation and homelessness, underscoring how primal survival is. The art pulls readers in and keeps the plot moving through close-ups of the animals' expressions. Nothing is sugarcoated: hunger pains, gory kills, desperation, fear, and loneliness are showcased. There are also playful moments: cubs playing with an armadillo or tugging on an adult lion's whiskers. The muted colors dramatically evoke a harsh sense of realism and match the mood of the work perfectly. There are many classroom connections, and literature classes could use this visual narrative as a starting point for writing prompts. There is one potentially confusing moment, where one lion falls off a cliff while the protagonist lion is fighting off other lions; it might take some students a few close reads to distinguish between the two lions. VERDICT Recommended for graphic novel collections, especially those where the previous two titles are popular.—Laura Dooley-Taylor, Lake Zurich Middle School North, IL