Louise Fatio (text) and Roger Duvoisin (illustrator), The Three Happy Lions, Scallywag Press, May 2021, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781912650712
The Three Happy Lions is a reprint of an old classic picture book, originally published in 1959. It was illustrated by Roger Duvoisin, who was a pioneer of children’s picture books and won several prestigious awards, including the Caldecott Medal. He illustrated a great many works from the 1930s until his death in 1980, including this title in The happy lion series, which were written by his wife, Louise Fatio.
Typically of Duvoisin’s works, The Three Happy Lions is an animal fable, and has a very human and relatable theme about finding a satisfying life’s purpose. With plenty of dialogue and rich, descriptive language, the text elegantly tells a story about a French zoo lion cub, named Francois, whose parents have high hopes for his future career. But there are few purposeful “jobs” suited to a lion. He firstly tries being a pet and then a circus lion, but without success. Finally, he discovers an unexpected calling, but nonetheless one that that makes him happy and his parents proud.
Duvoisin’s illustrations of the lions with expressive faces and body postures, and the evocative French style backdrops, are engaging, appealing and lively. This book is clearly an outstanding example of a 1950s picture book. So, to be better informed for writing this review, I read a 1987 article about Duvoisin, by Agnes Stahlschmidt, that I found on Gale Literature Resource. According to Stahlschmidt, Duvoisin’s picture books were ground-breaking in the 1940s and 50s for being entertaining and imaginative, with a touch of subtle humour. He created endearing animal characters of which the gorgeous lion cub and its expressively drawn lion parents in The Three Happy Lions, would be an example.
The illustrations in this book are either black and white charcoal drawings or coloured in only red, yellow, orange, and black, with bold black outline. The result is engaging and attractive despite the limited range of colour. This is probably because, as Sthaschmidt’s article (1987) explains, an illustrator’s ability to work with few colours was important in the 1950s due to high production costs.
I found this book quite charming, and I enjoyed the nostalgia of the 1950s styles of my early childhood. I recommend it especially for grandparents who want to share a sample of their childhood with their grandchildren. The text is quite long, so better suited for an older picture book audience – about 5- to 7-year-olds.
Reviewed by Barbara Swartz
