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The Lion and the Little Red Bird
A little bird discovers why a lion's tail changes color each day.
32 pages, Paperback
First published May 30, 1992
6 people are currently reading
149 people want to read
About the author
Elisa Kleven
57 books47 followersElisa Kleven is the author and/or illustrator of over 30 childrens picture books. Favorites with children and adults alike, Elisa's books have received awards and honors from the American Library Association, The New York Times , The Junior Library Guild, School Library Journal, and the American Institute of Graphic Arts. Her pictures from Abuela are part of a traveling show organized by the Minnesota Children's Museum, and her story The Paper Princess has been adapted for two theater productions, one in Ireland and the other in California. Elisa lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family and pets. To learn more about Elisa and her books, please visit her web site: www.elisakleven.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
March 23, 2010
This is one of those books that I just want to hug. It is so sweet and adorable and special! The lion is so cuddly. The little red bird is so pretty. Their land is interesting and beautiful. There's a little mystery, a budding friendship, and a deep appreciation of art and the beauty of nature. I loved it!
April 14, 2010
Oh, this is so adorable! Don’t expect a realistic lion and bird, not at all, but their developing friendship is so sweet.
I loved the artistic good-hearted lion and the curious bird.
I love this author/illustrator’s illustrations, and I once again really enjoyed them in this book; I think the art work is outstanding. There is so much to look at on every page. The deep blue lake page was especially appealing.
I loved the artistic good-hearted lion and the curious bird.
I love this author/illustrator’s illustrations, and I once again really enjoyed them in this book; I think the art work is outstanding. There is so much to look at on every page. The deep blue lake page was especially appealing.
November 23, 2019
A little red bird, noticing that the lion walking by her tree has a green tail, is intrigued, and inquires as to the cause. She gets no answer, of course - lions can't understand birds, after all! - but she keeps watch, and soon discovers that the lion's tail changes color every day. What can be going on?!? As she continues to investigate, she and the lion become very fond of one another, despite being unable to communicate verbally, and one stormy night, when the lion comes out of his cave to rescue her, the little bird discovers the answer she has been looking for...
As with Kleven's A Carousel Tale , the only one of the author's other books that I have read, I really appreciated the gorgeous collage artwork in The Lion and the Little Red Bird. Created using watercolor, pastel, ink, cut paper, and lamb's wool, the illustrations are exuberantly colorful, immediately grabbing the reader's attention, and holding it with their visual energy and pleasing palette. The story itself - and the solution to the puzzle of the lion's tail - is very satisfying, although I don't know that I was as touched, emotionally speaking, as some of my friends. Still, this is an immensely engaging little book, one I would recommend to young artists and animal lovers, as well as to Kleven's fans.
As with Kleven's A Carousel Tale , the only one of the author's other books that I have read, I really appreciated the gorgeous collage artwork in The Lion and the Little Red Bird. Created using watercolor, pastel, ink, cut paper, and lamb's wool, the illustrations are exuberantly colorful, immediately grabbing the reader's attention, and holding it with their visual energy and pleasing palette. The story itself - and the solution to the puzzle of the lion's tail - is very satisfying, although I don't know that I was as touched, emotionally speaking, as some of my friends. Still, this is an immensely engaging little book, one I would recommend to young artists and animal lovers, as well as to Kleven's fans.
April 30, 2011
My husband, daughter, and I really love this book! It is a refreshing delightful read. It is quite the colorful book with lovely illustrations. A wonderful book to read on a gloomy day or any day for that matter. We like the sweet story of the friendship of little bird and the lion. This is a definite great gift book for any children's book lover, especially those who love animals.
July 11, 2011
We LOVE LOVE LOVE this book! We have had it for many years (I think my daughter was 2 when we got it, she's now 10) and we still read it. Very sweet story about friendship and language. The illustrations are fantastic (as they are in all Elisa Kleven books). This book was read many many times when my daughter started attending a bi-lingual dual immersion school where about 85% of the students spoke Spanish only (She was part of a very small minority I think 5% that spoke only English at home. This book was really helpful with the transition. My one complaint: I would love to use it at work, but I can't find it in Spanish. :(
August 10, 2020
This is a pretty good story to teach very young kids about love and caring for one another.
It starts with a bird being interested in the changing colors of the lion's tail and the bird caring for the lion more and more as she watches him play and enjoy his environment, but as the bird sticks around, the lion also starts to care for the bird as well. There's no reason given in the book for why the lion cares for the bird, other than the fact that the bird is following the lion and chirping and singing around him, which the lion finds beautiful, leading to their friendship. The relationship is set up somewhat superficially, which is my only major complaint about the book. Why not add a bit more interaction between the two other than "bird finds lion interesting, lion likes bird's singing"?
It's similar to Jan Brett's "Mossy" in teaching young kids about love through simple connections and admiration for one another, but it is a little more complicated for two reasons. First, there is the bigger theme that love can happen between two very different creatures, a bird and a lion, and it can cross language barriers (the book repeatedly reminds the reader that the lion cannot understand the bird's chirping, while the lion himself remains silent through the whole story). Second, late into the story there is a thunderstorm that the lion needs to rescue the bird from which might be seen as a bit scary or startling for younger children. These details might make the book a little more mature than "Mossy".
It's excellent for even very young children, I would say 3-3.5 year olds can understand what's going on, but it might be best for 4 or even 5 year olds to understand the larger points I just mentioned.
The illustrations are excellent.
It starts with a bird being interested in the changing colors of the lion's tail and the bird caring for the lion more and more as she watches him play and enjoy his environment, but as the bird sticks around, the lion also starts to care for the bird as well. There's no reason given in the book for why the lion cares for the bird, other than the fact that the bird is following the lion and chirping and singing around him, which the lion finds beautiful, leading to their friendship. The relationship is set up somewhat superficially, which is my only major complaint about the book. Why not add a bit more interaction between the two other than "bird finds lion interesting, lion likes bird's singing"?
It's similar to Jan Brett's "Mossy" in teaching young kids about love through simple connections and admiration for one another, but it is a little more complicated for two reasons. First, there is the bigger theme that love can happen between two very different creatures, a bird and a lion, and it can cross language barriers (the book repeatedly reminds the reader that the lion cannot understand the bird's chirping, while the lion himself remains silent through the whole story). Second, late into the story there is a thunderstorm that the lion needs to rescue the bird from which might be seen as a bit scary or startling for younger children. These details might make the book a little more mature than "Mossy".
It's excellent for even very young children, I would say 3-3.5 year olds can understand what's going on, but it might be best for 4 or even 5 year olds to understand the larger points I just mentioned.
The illustrations are excellent.
November 10, 2015
A wonderfully written book about the unlikely friendship between a lion and a bird. The very detailed and beautiful illustrations make the book even more engaging. The first page catches the readers attention, and you find yourself wondering about the lion's tail just as much as the bird does. The story involved a little red bird noticing a lion's unusually colorful tail. When the bird tries to ask the lion why his tail is green, the lion just smiles because he doesn't understand the bird's language. The bird continues to watch the lion for days, and each day the lion's tail changes color. One day the bird helps the lion pull a thorn out of his foot. During a storm one night, the lion brings the bird into his safe, warm cave. The walls of his cave are beautifully painted with things he sees during the day. He paints with his tail, and that is why his tail changes colors.
In the classroom, you could use this story for an art lesson about watercolors. The illustrations are so beautiful and you could have the children recreate a scene from the book. You could also use this book to talk about friendship, and helping others in need. Both the lion and bird help each other out, and a beautiful friendship is formed. The book also brings up language, and how the two are friends even though they don't speak the same language. This aspect of the story is great for young language learners who are trying to form friendships despite their language differences. This book would be good for making predictions. There are many parts where you could stop reading and ask the children to predict what will happen next, or why they think the lion's tail is a specific color. Overall it is a wonderful book for young children, in and out of the classroom.
In the classroom, you could use this story for an art lesson about watercolors. The illustrations are so beautiful and you could have the children recreate a scene from the book. You could also use this book to talk about friendship, and helping others in need. Both the lion and bird help each other out, and a beautiful friendship is formed. The book also brings up language, and how the two are friends even though they don't speak the same language. This aspect of the story is great for young language learners who are trying to form friendships despite their language differences. This book would be good for making predictions. There are many parts where you could stop reading and ask the children to predict what will happen next, or why they think the lion's tail is a specific color. Overall it is a wonderful book for young children, in and out of the classroom.
July 15, 2014
This is a really cool and creative book! It think this a great book for a variety of lessons such as Colors, Friendship, and Diversity. The lion and bird do not understand each others language, but they still are able to grow a friendship.
September 26, 2018
One of our family's favorite picture books for years. Beautiful illustrations, beautiful story!
February 9, 2019
Why does the lion’s tail changes color? B
February 20, 2021
Absolutely enchanting little story! It made my heart happy in the simplest way :)
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January 10, 2022BookTree
May 20, 2024
Love the colorful illustrations. Kept us guessing and we loved the answer!
July 18, 2024
This was a beautiful story.
August 14, 2025
my new favorite children's book. It is incredibly sweet!
May 15, 2009
I read this for my storytelling class, and did end up...performing it...I guess would be the correct terminology.
It's a cute story, and I loved the mixed media artwork, but with storytelling you never see the book so macht nichts.
It worked pretty well for storytelling, but it doesn't follow the rule of 3 so it's a little bit odd.
Anyway, it's about a bird who sees a lion and becomes curious because the lion's tail is green. The bird follows the lion, and sees that the tail changes color daily. Eventually the bird finds out why.
It's a cute story, and I loved the mixed media artwork, but with storytelling you never see the book so macht nichts.
It worked pretty well for storytelling, but it doesn't follow the rule of 3 so it's a little bit odd.
Anyway, it's about a bird who sees a lion and becomes curious because the lion's tail is green. The bird follows the lion, and sees that the tail changes color daily. Eventually the bird finds out why.
December 9, 2007
This book is a favorite for our whole family. The lovely collage illustrations are detailed and constantly reveal new touches never before appreciated. The story, about a lion scours the countryside looking for inspiration and then paints with his tail -- and the little bird who becomes his friend and greatest fan -- is really wonderful. If I could find hardcover copies, I would be giving this as birthday gifts to all of Lenore's friends.
November 7, 2011
This is one of my favorite all-time children's books. I bought it for my granddaughters and other little children as well. It's all about the artistic lion who goes into his cave every night and comes out with a different colored tail in the morning. The little red bird befriends the lion and is fascinated by the changes in his tail color. The bird eventually finds out that the lion is using his tail for a paint brush in his cave every night. Lovely story. Well-told!
August 28, 2012
Great read aloud to read over the course of a week. Start the week reading the book and add a little to it each day. Have the kids retell the story after I close the book. This will help to introduce different animals and predict what may happen next. Also deals with art. Have the students come up with different ways that someone could paint, ie with a stick, with a rock, with grass...
March 4, 2015
Best book I have read in the past month (and we have been reading A TON of children's books all of the sudden!) Loved the story, the mystery, the artwork, the colors - everything. If I was little, I would be asking for this book to be read often. It just makes me happy :) - I read this with my 4.5 year old son. He loved it and giggled and guessed right along with me.
April 28, 2015
I think this was the best of my storytime books for today. It was the perfect middle, and both I, and the kids were captivated by the story and the illustrations. (This gave the kids many opportunities to guess what would happen and they were more invested in this one I think.) Beautiful colors and it was the perfect length for reading out loud. Definitely recommended!
July 11, 2015
Kids love this book because they are amazed by the color of the tail changing. It is a great book to read when introducing colors. I thought it was cool that each time the tail changed colors there was something the author related the color to like when the tail turned orange after he went threw the orange flowers.
December 31, 2007
All right, so I'm a hardened, jaded adult. It's tough to make me cry. Boyfriends, weddings, dead relatives - nothing does it anymore.
This book wrought tears. IT'S SO GOOD. It made me believe that there's a squishy center to me again.
This book wrought tears. IT'S SO GOOD. It made me believe that there's a squishy center to me again.
November 23, 2009
In an age of overstimulation and scensory overload, there is great need for stories such as this for young children...it is a quiet, gentle, beautiful story with a message that transcends time and culture.
April 15, 2012
This is such a cute little story! The bird is curious as to why the lion's tail changes colors each day. She later discovers that the lion is using his tail as a paintbrush to paint the inside of his cave. This story could be used to teach students about creativity as well as friendship!
July 23, 2012
Really enjoyed reading this story. The beautiful illustrations and mystery within the reading had children listening and watching very closely.
extension:Have children predict what the lion would paint at the end of the story.
LD1f: makes predictions from pictures and titles.
extension:Have children predict what the lion would paint at the end of the story.
LD1f: makes predictions from pictures and titles.
May 16, 2014
How does the lion's tail keep changing colors? The little song bird wonders. The answer is delightful.
Wonderfully detailed pictures made with mixed-media collage, watercolors, pastels, paper & ink and lamb's wool.
Wonderfully detailed pictures made with mixed-media collage, watercolors, pastels, paper & ink and lamb's wool.
April 14, 2015
This is one of my favorite books--and my granddaughter's also. Why is lion's tail a different color every time the little red bird sees him? I love the ending that explains the mystery of the many-colored tail. A delightful story with exquisite illustrations.
February 4, 2017
We are big fans of Elisa Kleven. Her artwork is full of color and intricacy. Her stories are meaningful and filled with love and friendship. The Lion and the Little Red Bird is a story about a friendship between a curious little red bird and a lion who paints with his tail.
February 20, 2008
I would give it more stars if I could! Teaches life is not always what it seems, colors.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews