Hedge Lion by Robyn Wilson-Owen
Publisher: Andersen Press USA
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by AstilbeDiscover your inner-roar with Ida, and your inner kindness with Hedge Lion!
Ida sees Hedge Lion every day on her walk around town. Hedge Lion wants everyone to think he’s a hedge. Nobody’s scared of hedges. But Ida is brave, she notices things that other people don’t, and she’s not fooled. She knows Hedge Lion is a lion, she just needs to help him find his roar. Along the way, Ida learns to be patient and kind, and Hedge Lion learns to be brave and confident.
Everyone needs a cheerleader sometimes.
Ida was such a good friend to Hedge Lion. I smiled every time she encouraged him to do something that he felt shy or uncertain about. She knew exactly how often to bring up new stuff for him to try without pushing him too much. It was lovely to see their friendship evolve and the hedge lion become a better version of himself over time.
It would have been nice to have a little more character development for Ida. Hedge Lion learned an important lesson, but she didn’t change much as a result of their blossoming friendship even though there were a few different opportunities for her to do so. If more attention had been paid to her learning how to improve herself, I would have gone for a full five star rating for this tale.
One of the things I liked most about this picture book was how much room it left for interpretation. Was Hedge Lion real or a figment of Ida’s imagination? There was evidence to support either claim, and the plot ultimately made equal amounts of sense no matter which one a reader might choose to believe. That’s the sort of writing that makes me want to return to an author over and over again.
Hedge Lion was creative.
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