The story is about a lion who lives in a zoo in France. For a lion, he's quite zen-like for such a carnivorous sort. But the story gives the sense that even wild animals can be sensible and polite, so why can't we? The lion is happy. He has many regular "friends" who pass by him every day and say "Bonjour, Happy Lion!" (Be forewarned, my kids were saying "Bonjour, Happy Mommy; Bonjour Happy dog, and on and on for days after this story - but this phrase is actually very fun to say!) One day the zookeeper leaves open the door to the Happy Lion's cage, which the lion doesn't like because who knows who might try to come in? (isn't that cute?) But then decides he is going to go say hello to all his friends who visit him. None of them react in what the Happy Lion considers a sensible way. Really, why are they yelling so? The situation escalates (with the Happy Lion being completely unaware that he is the cause) to the point of the fire department getting involved. The Happy Lion is bemused and watching the goings on when the zookeeper's son (Francois) comes along and says (you guessed it) "Bonjour, Happy Lion" in a completely reasonable and polite manner. The boy escorts him home and they become best friends.
What I like about this book is that the Happy Lion is so very secure in himself. He can see absolutely no reason why people would be screaming and yelling at him. After all, he's only gone out to pay his respects to the people who normally come to see him. The one person that sees the Happy Lion for who he is, is of course, a child. There are no threatening situations here. Even the fire fighter involvement is rendered in a distant, bemused sort of manner and you don't get any sense that the lion is to be harmed at all. It is a rather sophisticated story, so I recommend it for at least 4 years and up (with explanations to the 4 years who might not know "bonjour" or what a zoo is!)
The author, Louise Fatio, is Swiss (although she later moved to the US). I think many children's books written by European authors have a completely different feel than books written by authors in the United States (especially the older ones, such as Babar and Madeline). The writing style is much more dry in its humor and written in a more understated manner. Not to condescend, but it seems European writers write as if children were little miniature adults - not that the subject matter is inappropriate, just that much more about human behavior is assumed in the telling. Some children may not connect to this. So you might want to check it out from the library first before purchasing to get a sense if they will like it.
And as an aside, the illustrator, Roger Duvoisin, was married to Louise. I love husband and wife children's book teams. I think it results in greater expression of the story. The illustrations themselves are not intricately rendered, but are drawn in a dated style that is loose and fits the story. I love the cover picture of the lion. He looks happy, and just a smidge smug, doesn't he?
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