My Best Friend Is a Lion

PreS-Gr 1–A pale-skinned, red-haired child copes with feelings of loneliness and being left out by imagining what life would be like if she had a pet lion. The focus of her daydream is on making her friends jealous as she envisions taking the lion on a walk through the park, getting ice cream, visiting a bakery, and even stopping traffic (and no one honks). Joined by a growing line of diverse children and a few adults, the duo ends the day back home, where the lion roars to show his happiness and the girl makes eye contact with new friends. Pilutti uses bright colors throughout the illustrations, with the backgrounds of each imagined scene becoming simpler and more childlike as the story progresses. The lion is drawn with a yellow glow that’s escaped the animal’s outline, almost as if drawn by a child. The illustrations work wonderfully to showcase the imagined elements. At the end, it’s revealed that the main character is drawing with chalk when she’s approached by a young boy with brown skin and dark hair who asks to join her. Soon after, her friends return and ask to join in the drawing, too. The lesson of using one’s imagination for problem-solving is subtle but very effective.