A Lion to Guard Us Author:Clyde Robert Bulla "The lion's head your brother has -- what is it?" the young man asked Amanda.
Amanda looked at the lion's head in Jeremy's hands. "It's a door knocker," she said. "It used to be on our house in London."
"People on this ship think the lion is made of gold," the man said. "Be careful -- someone may try to take it away from you."
This short book is great for introducing young readers to life in the early 1600s for servants in England, the harshness of crossing the Atlantic, and the hardiness of those up to the task. It shows life as it was without sugar coating things -but it does so in a practical manner so that it is not heart wrenching or depressing.
My complaint with this book comes from the illustrations, not the story! Illustrator Michele Chessare looks like she used Picasso as inspiration. There are no beautiful pictures typical for children's books - instead there are strange to disturbing (for children) illustrations. That was a big disappointment & the reason for 4 stars instead of the 5 the text deserves