Ronojoy Ghosh, Charlie, Random House Australia, July 2018, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780143785026
Charlie is a worldly lion who loves to explore the city but he realises people fear him. So Charlie concocts a disguise. The tongue-in-cheek humour in this simple tale lies in the concept that this cultured lion would rather eat cake than people; and in the illustrations, where the reader can see through the meagre disguise, yet the other characters cannot. Readers may also recognise another lion from an award winning picture book among the beautiful stylized illustrations. They could further explore the concept of ‘disguise’, making their own disguises or looking at how animals use camouflage. Recommended for early childhood.
Themes: zoo animals, travel, city culture, people and places, disguise.
Reviewed by Sharon Seymour
