posted on 10 Sep 2024

The Happy Lion Roars by Louise Fatio, illustrated by Roger Duvoisin

This is a beautiful reissue of the second book in the classic series by the Swiss author, Louise Fatio, dating originally from the late 1950s and early 1960s. It’s a charming and simple story about the Happy Lion who is no longer happy – even when his great friend Francois visits him to play.

It soon becomes obvious that his problem is loneliness: all around him other animals have their mates to live with but Happy Lion has no-one – and he’s miserable. Well, that is until he pays a visit with Francois to the circus that has come to town. And it’s there that he sees Beautiful Lioness and becomes infatuated.

Then, at night, Happy Lion creeps to the circus, finds the cage holding Beautiful Lioness and releases her. Naturally, when the circus owner discovers one of his star turns has disappeared, there is uproar in town.

What will happen to Happy Lion and Beautiful Lioness? Well, I’m not telling because you’ll want to get your own copy in order to find out.

But, in truth, the story is only a part of the overall pleasure of the book because the illustrations are just fabulous. Roger Duvoisin (1900 – 1980), who was married to Louise Fatio, was a Swiss-American artist who went on to win the Caldicott Medal for picture books – and it’s easy to see why. His illustrations are very much of their time and have a simple, uncomplicated immediacy that is reminiscent of someone like Edward Ardizzone or Brian Wildsmith. 

Thankfully we no longer have lions in cages at circuses these days - this story is a gentle fantasy and younger children won’t be distressed because none of these animals is in any sort of jeopardy and certainly not mistreated in any way.

Original copies of the Happy Lion series are very expensive to buy now and devilishly difficult to find, so it’s hat’s off to Scallywag Press for reissuing this and for doing such a lovely job of it. You will be able to get a copy from your local independent bookshop – who will be happy to order it for you if they don’t have it on their shelves.

Terry Potter

September 2024