  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 02/01/2016 Meet one hungry lion and its menagerie of animal friends. Or are they friends? One by one, these animals disappear, while the lion remains hungry. Perhaps the lion is to blame, but could there be another explanation for these rapidly disappearing critters? Cummins’ enjoyably repetitive text and droll illustrations give each animal a personality, despite their pending departure, from the stand-out sauciness of the lion to the affable nature of the ever-present turtle. The stark backgrounds play this up and allow each character to stand out. Of course, it’s the brazen lion that drives the story: he gets in the reader’s face, taking up the whole page with his loud red mane and cunning eyes, and seems curiously reserved throughout the ordeal. What’s revealed is that the other animals have been preparing a birthday cake for the lion—pretty great, right? Well, Cummins has a hilariously dark twist (two, actually) still to come. When this devilish book ends, there will, indeed, be only one animal left standing. - Copyright 2016 Booklist. Loading...
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