Ellen's Lion: Twelve Stories by Crockett Johnson

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Crockett Johnson, creator of the 1955 classic Harold and the Purple Crayon, also wrote a lovely, nonsensically philosophical collection of 12 stories about a little girl named Ellen and her conversations with her stuffed lion. Originally published in 1959, Ellen’s Lion has an old-fashioned feel, but its explorations of child logic and imagination are universal and fresh, the perspective authentically childlike. In one story, Ellen pretends she is terrified of her pet lion and calls the police. The lion becomes impatient and annoyed. Ellen feels guilty: "I should have asked you if you ate people before I called a policeman," she says. The lion tells her she didn’t use a real telephone. "’But I called a real policeman,’ said Ellen." In another story, "Sad Interlude," Ellen displays sympathy for her "poor sad old lion." The lion is indignant: "I’m never sad and never happy, never hungry or never full, never foolish or clever, or good or bad, or this or that, or anything else you imagine me to be—-"
"You poor thing," Ellen said, slowly, shaking her head. "You haven’t any mother, either, have you?"
"Now you are being ridiculous," the lion said. Children will have no trouble keeping up as the story slips from the real to the imaginary and back again. Out of print for two decades, this winning chapter book, complete with orange-hued, Harold-style illustrations, is sure to charm readers young and old. (Ages 5 to 8) --Karin Snelson


Book Description
Originally published in 1959 and out of print for two decades, this collection of very short stories chronicles Ellen’s relationship– complete with two-way conversations–with her floppy stuffed lion. Ellen’s temperament is a bit like Christopher Robin’s (though her appearance is a clone of Harold, from Harold and the Purple Crayon fame), but her lion is a no-nonsense, tougher-minded Pooh, with the voice of reason and reality to counter Ellen’s high-flying imagination. The stories range from fear of the dark and being sad to playing doctor, being a fairy princess, and dealing with a new toy that almost replaces lion.
Parents will find the subtly droll stories as entertaining as children, and a child who reads chapter books will find especially rewarding.


Card catalog description
Presents twelve episodes in Ellen's relationship with her toy lion.


From the Inside Flap
Originally published in 1959 and out of print for two decades, this collection of very short stories chronicles Ellen’s relationship– complete with two-way conversations–with her floppy stuffed lion. Ellen’s temperament is a bit like Christopher Robin’s (though her appearance is a clone of Harold, from Harold and the Purple Crayon fame), but her lion is a no-nonsense, tougher-minded Pooh, with the voice of reason and reality to counter Ellen’s high-flying imagination. The stories range from fear of the dark and being sad to playing doctor, being a fairy princess, and dealing with a new toy that almost replaces lion.
Parents will find the subtly droll stories as entertaining as children, and a child who reads chapter books will find especially rewarding.


About the Author
Crockett Johnson is best known as the author/illustrator of Harold and the Purple Crayon, the comic strip Barnaby, and the illustrations in Carrot Seed by his wife Ruth Krauss. He died in 1975 at age 68.


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Ellen and her stuffed lion have quite a relationship and seem to spend a lot of time talking to each other. Ellen is highly imaginative, while the lion is a voice of reason, a no-nonsense kind of guy...er, cat. The stories cover such things as fear of the dark, a new toy replacing lion, a fairy tale adventure, sadness, and everyday play. The dialogue is filled with somewhat sophisticated, tongue-in-cheek language; since this was originally published in 1959, some of it is a little dated and consequently falls flat. The illustrations, in Johnson's recognizable style, are timeless. Ellen's appearance and many of her concerns and imaginative play seem young. This may be a problem for some readers of early chapter books. While some of Johnson's books have become classics, this one doesn't make the grade. 2003 (orig. 1959), Alfred A. Knopf,


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