Roar!: A Noisy Counting Book

One day, while great big lions lie basking in the sun, a little lion cub goes off to find some fun.

Roars the little lion cub.

"Who will play with me?

1 red monkey rushes up a tree.

Poor little lion cub! All he wants is someone to play with, but he is simply too noisy. As the little lion cub Roars his way across the grassland, young picture-book readers can count the African animals,identify them by color...and Roars along too.

This rollicking, Roaring poem, about a rambunctious little lion cub, is a collaboration of the talented author and illustrator team Pamela Duncan Edwards and Henry Cole.

Children's Pick of the Lists 2000 (ABA)

A lion cub's roar frightens away other colorful animals, from one red monkey to eight brown gazelles, that he wants to come play with him--until he encounters nine other lion cubs.

A lion cub wants to play with the other animals he meetsone red monkey, two pink flamingos, three orange warthogs, and so onbut his loud roar keeps scaring them away. Finally, he meets the right playmates: nine other roaring cubs. The pleasing illustrations depict the wildlife with humor, but the verse is often awkward and uninspired.

Publishers Weekly

A lion cub just wants to have fun with his fellow inhabitants of the savanna. But he doesn't understand why, when he roars his invitation to join his game or dance, nobody wants to play with him. One red monkey "scampers up a tree," plugging his ears; eight brown gazelles "race off on pounding feet." Just when the lonely cub despairs of ever finding a playmate, he hears "nine yellow lion cubs roaring just like me." Together, the group of 10 sends the entire animal population fleeing for cover. Edwards and Cole, in their fifth collaboration (The Worrywarts; Some Smug Slug), prove once again that they go together like hippos and water: the prose is economical and straightforward, while the artwork strikes a satisfying balance between cartooning and naturalism. Children should enjoy keeping track of the parade of big numbers and bright colors, while giggling over a fact that the cub doesn't seem to be aware of yet--that he's king of the jungle. A gentle nature lesson and concept book neatly rolled into one. Ages 3-7. (May) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Pamela Duncan Edwards is the author of numerous popular picture books, including Livingstone Mouse; Roar! A Noisy Counting Book; Some Smug Slug; The Worrywarts; Clara Caterpillar; Wake-Up Kisses; Rosie's Roses; The Leprechaun's Gold; and Gigi and Lulu's Gigantic Fight, all illustrated by Henry Cole; as well as Dear Tooth Fairy, illustrated by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick; McGillycuddy Could!, illustrated by Sue Porter; and The Neat Line, illustrated by Diana Cain Bluthenthal. She lives in Virginia.