10th August World Lion Day

Lions – with the scientific name Panthera leo – are the second-largest cat in the world, just behind the Asian tiger.

Three million years ago, lions roamed all over Africa and the Eurasian supercontinent. But today, various ice ages and changes in the natural environment means that their range is reduced primarily to Africa and select parts of Asia. 

According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, lions are a “vulnerable” species, meaning that their numbers could and should be higher. Currently, researchers estimate that there are between 30,000 and 100,000 lions left on planet Earth. Without significant intervention, there is a chance that they could find themselves on the endangered list alongside other species most at risk of extinction.

World Lion Day,  has three objectives. The first is to raise awareness of the plight of the lion and the issues that the species face in the wild. The second is to find ways to protect the big cat’s natural environment, such as creating more national parks and reducing the areas in which people can settle. And the third is to educate people who live near wild cats on the dangers and how to protect themselves.

Lions are the only cats that regularly live in social groups and their groups are called prides. The size of a typical pride is usually between 10 to 15 animals but it can vary between 2 to 40 members. In a pride, females do most of the hunting and cub rearing and males defend the pride territory. While females live with the pride for life, males usually leave the pride when they are a few years old.

Lions are not as popular as tigers in the library or in picture books in general, but they do get borrowed and it is always worth doing a display. What the library has is here, but I do have some favourites, which are these:

Dumazi is a young savvy Zulu girl who encounters a yellow lion caught in a trap one day. Although compassionate, she instantly surmises the lion’s true nature and only after making a deal for her life, agrees to set him free. But can one really trust a hungry lion? And is Dumazi’s brazen bravery and quick thinking enough to save her life?

It tells the story of a lion who, bored by his rural life in the savannah, seeks excitement and opportunity in the city of light. On arrival in Paris the lion is disappointed to find that despite his size, people barely pay attention to him, not even when he lets out a ferocious roar on the busy Metro. Taking in the sights and sounds of Paris it successfully conveys the experience of being a stranger in a new city and the process of understanding our own identity. 

There are seven steps to becoming a proper lion, including Looking Fierce, Roaring, Prowling Around, and Pouncing. Our young hero, a rather meek and scrawny human boy, does his best to learn the necessary skills during his training with a master instructor (who just happens to be a real lion). After a grueling set of lessons, the boy discovers that that the final step--Looking Out for Your Friends--is the most important of all.

All the books in this series are good, but I really like this one about why lions don't have a home like most other animals.

And I am especially fond of the fable The Lion and the Mouse and there are so many beautifully illustrated versions, but none are better than the pencil lion drawings in this one:

International Year of Glass

 

The Year will celebrate the essential role glass has and will continue to have in Society. In the library this year we started off with a display of books that feature glass and glass products. We collected fiction and nonfiction books about jars, glasses, bottles, spectacles, marbles, lights, lanterns, telescopes, microscopes, mirrors, magnifying glasses, lighthouses and windows. We couldn't believe just how much we had to display.

I was also pleasantly surprised to find books that were so worth sharing. Among many, these are just luminary.

It Fell From the Sky by Eric and Terry Fan

From the cover of the book you can see that 'it' is a glass marble.

Here is the blurb:

A whimsical and elegantly illustrated picture book about community, art, the importance of giving back - and the wonder that fell from the sky.

It fell from the sky on a Thursday. None of the insects know where it came from, or what it is. Some say it's an egg. Others, a gumdrop. But whatever it is, it fell near Spider's house, so he's convinced it belongs to him.

Spider builds a wonderous display so that insects from far and wide can come to look at the marvel. Spider has their best interests at heart. So what if he has to charge a small fee? So what if the lines are long?

But as Spider raises the prices, insects stop showing up, much to Spider's bemusement. And then, all of a sudden, an unexpected disaster hits and the marvel disappears!

This charming story is accompanied by characterful illustrations, and also teaches children important life lessons about greed and the importance of sharing.

A Thousand Glass Flowers by Evan Turk

Here is the blurb:

This gorgeous and empowering picture book from award-winning author-illustrator Evan Turk paints the portrait of Marietta Barovier, the groundbreaking Renaissance artisan who helped shape the future of Venetian glassmaking.  

Marietta and her family lived on the island of Murano, near Venice, as all glassmakers did in the early Renaissance. Her father, Angelo Barovier, was a true maestro, a master of glass. Marietta longed to create gorgeous glass too, but glass was men's work. 

One day her father showed her how to shape the scalding-hot material into a work of art, and Marietta was mesmerized. Her skills grew and grew. 

Marietta worked until she created her own unique glass bead: the rosetta. Small but precious, the beautiful beads grew popular around the world and became as valuable as gold. The young girl who was once told she could not create art was now the woman who would leave her mark on glasswork for centuries to come.

The Glassmaker's Daughter by Dianne Hofmeyr and Jane Ray

Here is the blurb:

Daniela the glassmaker's daughter is grumpy and never smiles. Her father promises a beautiful glass palace to anyone who can make her laugh. People come from far and wide to try their luck in amusing Daniela. But mask makers, lion tamers and magicians cannot raise a smile from the princess. It is only when a young apprentice makes the first looking glass that Daniela learns to smile - at her own grumpy reflection! This beautiful fable set in sixteenth-century Venice features stunning illustrations from award-winning artist Jane Ray alongside a poetic text. 

Glass Tears by Jane Jolly and Di Wu

Here is the blurb:

Tian and her family make a special glass bouquet to place on their father's grave. Some years before, he had left Vietnam on a ship bound for wider, browner lands, but never came home. As Tian threads the tiny glass beads onto wire stems she remembers her father and sheds for him, a glass tear.  Based on a true event from the 1940s.

Child of Glass  by Beatrice Alemagna

Here is the blurb:

Child of Glass follows Gisele, a fragile yet resilient girl who was born entirely made of glass. Sparkling and luminous, she attracts awe and attention from across the world. But as she is also completely transparent and her innermost thoughts and feelings are always on display, she also faces rejection and alienation. Gisele must, therefore, embark on a journey to find her place in the world. In sparse, poetic language marked by insight and realism, Child of Glass reminds us of the inner courage and capacity for self-realization we all possess.

A Bottle of Happiness by Pippa Goodhart and Ehsan Abdollahi

Here is the blurb:

There was once a big mountain. The people on one side were rich and worked only to get richer. The people on the other side of the mountain were poor but had a wealth of stories and laughter. One day a poor young boy decides to seek a new story and this leads him to the rich people's marketplace. He would love one of the ripe pieces of fruit, but what can a poor boy trade?  Find out if it is possible to bottle and share happiness in this timeless fable, exquisitely illustrated in an eye-opening and unusual style. 

Memory Jars by Vera Brosgol

Here is the blurb:

A young girl finds a clever way to keep her favorite things--and people--close to her forever in Memory Jars. Freda is devastated when she can't eat all the delicious blueberries she's picked. She has to wait a whole year before they're back, and she doesn't want to lose them! Then Gran reminds her that they can save blueberries in a jar, as jam. So Freda begins to save all her favorite things. But it turns out that saving everything also means she can't enjoy anything, and Freda realizes that some things are best saved as memories. 

In a Jar by Deborah Marcero

Here is the blurb:

Here's a marvelous picture book, charmingly written and beautifully illustrated, about the power of memory and the magic of friendship. 
Llewellyn, a little rabbit, is a collector. He gathers things in jars--ordinary things like buttercups, feathers, and heart-shaped stones. Then he meets another rabbit, Evelyn, and together they begin to collect extraordinary things--like rainbows, the sound of the ocean, and the wind just before snow falls. And, best of all, when they hold the jars and peer inside, they remember all the wonderful things they've seen and done.

And an oldie that I found on the shelves and reread. It might still be in your library too.

Ah Kee and the Glass Bottle by Joan Salanitri and Di Wu

'A picture book for all ages. This is love story set in China when merchant caravans travelled the Silk Road. Ah Kee's gift of a blue glass drinking bottle to her husband Li Chong leads her on a perilous journey in storm-ravaged mountains to save his life.' 

All these and I haven't mentioned mirrors, spectacles, windows or any of the many other things on the list above.