There Is No Lion There

This is a tale about coping with fear, represented by the lion, the king of the beasts. Fears arise when kids leave their home and go to the public park to play in the sandpit, swing on the swings, and run around on the paths. In the park, there are tall trees and low bushes and dark corners, and also strange folks, one of whom is walking a big dog. There are intriguing sounds, and at one end of the park is a public bomb shelter that is scary dark inside and stairs going down but you can’t see where they end. But there is no lion there! Even the birds that put their chicks to sleep at sundown know there’s no lion nearby to threaten them. And if there’s no lion in the park, what is there to fear?

In her amusing and clever way, Zarchi tells an enchanting story about what children are scared of, and shows how we can overcome fear.