Elizabeth M. (CiderSapling) reviewed on 9/20/2012 + 13 more book reviews

This is just a fun romp of a read, with lively illustrations and lots of alliteration. Leopold tells stories to the crowd gathered at the zoo about far away places. Leopold tells of caterpillar eating cats of Carthaginia, Gertrude the gorilla who reigns in the galaxy of Gelato, and more for years and years, captivating generations. Until Professor Professor Doctor Morgenfresser comes to Leipzig and declares Leopold a liar. A trial is held and Leopold defends himself, explaining that he never said something actually happened, or that he had actually seen something. Leopold claims that he isn't a liar - he is a storyteller. The town cheerfully releases him so that he can continue telling stories and Professor Professor Doctor Morgenfresser leaves town in a huff.

The illustrations in this book are full of color and detail. I especially like that in each "story" a central color is used: red for Carthaginia, green for Gelato, etc. Aviram does an excellent job using illustrations to convey a sense of fun and excitement. This is also a wonderfully fun book to read - not so difficult that your tongue trips over the text, but enough alliteration and repetition that the text flows together. For us, this book started a great conversation about speaking the truth versus using your imagination.

Officially, this book is labeled as 4 years and up. We bought it when our daughter was 3 and she enjoyed it greatly. As a 5 year old reading at a second grade level, she now finds this book somewhat boring and beneath her. However, she loves to read it aloud for her 1 year old brother (who mostly just tries to turn the page). I'd recommend this for the

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