There's a Lion in My Cornflakes

There's a Lion in my Cornflakes is a quirky and funny picture book which uses a long standing childhood interest as a basis for the story. For many years children have collected coupons, cards and small objects given away in cereal packets. The basis for this particular story is collecting coupons for a very unusual item: a lion as a pet. The story is told in the first person from the perspective of a young boy and his brother. From the first page onwards the story involves the reader in the fast action as the brothers visit the supermarket to buy the number of cereal packets to give them the 100 coupons required to get the lion. Their parents are decidedly unimpressed with the packages and make them eat the cornflakes for every meal. However, the real down side of the collecting is that the demand for the pet lions is very high and the boys do not get a lion but are given a bear, crocodile and gorilla instead. Each of these creatures bring different issues with them which the family have to deal with! The Jim Field cartoony illustrations add greatly to the fun of the story. This would be a delightful book to read with a class of young children and perhaps start a collection of current cereal offers as discussing environmental print adds to young children's reading repertoire. Reviewed by Fiona Collins, consultant

Suggested Reading Age 3+