In this book you see how things from two completely different worlds can come together. There was never any conflict between the bird and the lion, but there was never any communication and understanding either. Even without that communication, the lion still felt the need to protect the bird through the relationship that they built up. I think that it is a very important topic for kids to learn about. ( )

A little red bird sees a lion one day and notices he there is something unusual about him. His tail was green. Every day the little red bird followed the lion around. The bird even made a nest right next to the lion's cave. The lions tail word be a different color every day, and the little red bird was determined to find out why. One night a storm came, and the lion went outside to rescue the little red bird from its tree. When they both were safe inside the lions cave the little red bird notice the lion had painted the walls of his cave and used his tail as his brush. The bird had finally figure out why the lions tail changed colors. ( )

I read this book a lot as a kid. It was my preschool teacher's favorite book and she gave me a copy for my fourth birthday. I really enjoyed reading it again. The illustrations are amazing. They are so colorful and you can really see all the different textures of the animals and the plants. The premise of the book is great, as well. The fact that the lion's tail keeps changing color drives the little red bird crazy and he follows the lion around, hoping to find out his secret: "'Lion, lion!' she said. 'Why is your tail so green?' The lion didn't understand the bird's language. He thought she was simply chirping. He smiled at her". I remember as a child the story would keep me guessing, and I think that's what makes it so engaging. It also helps that the bird and the lion cannot understand one another, so they can only interact and communicate through actions. I appreciate that the plot is able to move without very much dialogue. One of the big ideas of the book is if you take the time to get to know someone you could find out the beautiful things they are capable of, like when the bird finds out the lion paints pictures on the cave walls. ( )

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. ( )

An unlikely frienship forms between a little red bird and a lion when the bird decides to discover the meaning behind the lion's colorful tail. As it turns out, turn lion is discovered to be quite an artist inside of his cage. Very nicely illustrated book. ( )