Meet Chloe: Every week, she collects loose change so she can buy tickets to ride the merry-go-round. But one fateful day, she gets lost in the woods on her way home, and a large dragon leaps out from-"Wait! It's supposed to be a lion," says Mac Barnett, the author of this book. But Adam Rex, the illustrator, thinks a dragon would be so much cooler (don't you agree?).
Mac's power of the pen is at odds with Adam's brush, and Chloe's story hangs in the balance. Can she help them out of this quandary to be the heroine of her own story?
Mac Barnett and Adam Rex are a dynamic duo, and two of the strongest contemporary voices in picture books today. In an accessible and funny way, Chloe and the Lion talks about the creative process and the joys and trials of collaboration.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
Amazing!
By Staton Mom
This is an excellent book that my little one really enjoyed. We got it just in time for the Easter basket, and read it to him at bedtime that night. This story is told in such a unique fashion; I think both the parents and children will find it very entertaining. Although titled Chloe and the Lion, the book is really about Mac and Adam (the author and illustrator) and their friendship as told through Chloe's story. This is such a neat spin on storytelling, using both the written word and illustrations to full effect. I would definitely recommend picking this up!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
Who Knew "That's so meta" could apply to a picture book
By Beth S.
When the author and illustrator fight over what happens in the story, what do you suppose is the result? This wacky, mad-cap picture book, Chloe and the Lion. The book begins innocently enough: with Chloe wanting to ride the carousel and then getting lost in the forest. But as you continue to read, you quickly realize that this story isn't about Chloe at all. Adam and Mac's argument over creative license soon takes over the entire book and Chloe's dilemma gets put on the backburner.This is one of those books that will benefit kids by rereading it to them. Even my sixth graders, who are more sophisticated readers than the primary crowd this book is written for, asked me to read it to them a second time because they were so confused by some of the things that were happening in the story (the idea of a meta-story is a new concept to them).Still, once we discussed everything that was going on (the story within a story), kids started to see the humor and got into quoting certain parts of the book (they especially loved the motif of telling the author, "A dragon would be so much cooler").This would be a great book to talk about the concept of allusion with students because there are instances where Chloe encounters characters and situations from other works of classic literature, and I was surprised at how much my kids knew what they were when I asked them about it.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.Not Just For Children
By Nancy
From time to time, children's board books fall into the same rut of princess and happily ever after. Well, I have no idea what was rolling around in the minds of Mac Barnett and Adam Rex, but I can tell you that there is no way you will find a sparkly princess or get bored reading this book.To be honest, I am not one hundred percent sure that it is a child's book, so right there it should tell you that it deserves to be picked up. Mac and Adam not only wrote and illustrated this book, but they actually star in it. When the collaboration between writer and illustrator goes amuck, it is up to lead character Chloe to get them all back on board and convince the ever changing lion, who should have been a dragon, into giving up his dinner so the story can be finished. I know that sounds a little strange, but this book is so funny and convoluted that the reader is in for as much of an entertaining evening as any young child.The illustrations are a little different than the usual offerings, think Wizard of Oz meets clay animation meets paper dolls and you would be close.Loved the storyline and the quips. I am not 100% sure of the age group that I would recommend this book, I recommend that you pick it up and decide if it would be right for your young one or more along the lines of something that you, the adult, will chuckle over.
