The Butterfly Lion

Product Information

It takes you on a rich journey of adventure,loneliness,loss,sadness,hope,love,friendship,determination and joy.

A British boy and a white lion cub form a bond in turn-of-the-century South Africa, and when years later, the now grown-up boy sees the lion's image on a circus poster, he vows to find his friend again. He is also the author of WAR HORSE, which has been made into a Tony Award-winning Broadway play and a Golden Globe-nominated film. Many years later, Bertie was fighting for England in the Great War in France, when he saw a poster with a white lion on it advertising a nearby circus.The book was adapted into a stage play by Daniel Buckroyd of the Mercury Theatre, Colchester, which toured the UK in 2014. A lyrical and moving tale of a young boy growing up in Africa, and his lifelong friendship with a white lion. It was an amazing story because it showed how important and special a promise can be and how awful loneliness must be and how friendship can overcome it. Together they discover that Monsieur Merlot's circus has closed down, but that the Frenchman lives nearby with the lion. How the story of the two ends, how the old woman comes to know of it, and how all of it ties back into WW1, you'll have to discover for yourselves.

Comment: The spine or cover may be slightly worn but the book is otherwise in good condition and will provide thought provoking read!Bertie is the main character and is a lonely little boy who finds friendship in the company of a lion cub. Years later and now a soldier in France during WWI, he sees a poster for a circus with a white lion on it and he succeeds in tracking him down. I would recommend it as a class 'story time' book for years 2 and 3, and as a reading for pleasure book for years 4-6.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. There are so many benefits from listening to a story in any format, from developing listening skills and quite concentration to fostering imagination and visualization techniques. It is a story told in the first person by a young boy who runs away from his school lonely and sad and meets the old lady who relates the story of her husband from long before. His little white lion went with him everywhere, and at the end of each day they would watch the sun go down together.I bought it to complete a Goodreads challenge but after looking at it several times as I was browsing my bookshelf I was reluctant to read it. The inclusion of the war adds a touch of history and would interest boys if they can get past the front cover. I add my voice to the majority of commentators who rate this book highly for children of all ages, even into their old age! Michael Morpurgo describes his characters' emotions very well which makes the story really come to life.