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My Mum is a Lioness

by Swapna Haddow, illustrated by Dapo Adeola

Interest age: 4 to 5

Published by Macmillan Children's Books, 2022

  • Picture books

About this book

When your mum is a lioness, it means that she’ll pounce on you if you’re trying to run away. She’ll roar with approval at your school shows and she’ll show you off relentlessly to the other lionesses in the pride, because she loves you so much. Not only that, being a natural athlete, lioness mum will teach you how to chase and leap higher than all the other cubs – but she’ll also always be there to pick you up when you fall.

The delightful sequel to Haddow and Adeola’s My Dad is a Grizzly Bear features a powerful, energetic mum who is very much the centre of the family, cheering on her children and loving everyone fearlessly. The little boy telling the story isn’t always thrilled about some of his mum’s lion-like qualities, but Mum is always there when he needs her, and that’s what matters.

As ever, Dapo Adeola’s brilliant illustration captures the loving family dynamic perfectly and his depiction of a mixed race family is wonderful. A brilliant book about families and the awesome power of mums.

About the author

Londoner Swapna Haddow is the award-winning children's author of the Dave Pigeon series. She loves to write about boisterous animals that cause mayhem and is working to make sure mean cats, grizzly bears and big-hearted little rabbits find their place on the bookshelves. Friendship and humour are always at the heart of what Swapna loves to write.

Her first published book, Dave Pigeon, illustrated by Sheena Dempsey, received rave reviews and went on to win three regional awards in the UK and was shortlisted for the prestigious Sainsbury's Children's Book Award. The series is based on two pigeons who find themselves battling predators in an array of madcap scenarios, all the while proving that friendship and teamwork can defeat anything. Swapna now lives in New Zealand with her husband, son and their dog, Archie.

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