Lizzy's Lion

B.A. Robinson was a freelance reviewer from Toronto.

Lizzie’s Lion will undoubtedly sell lots of copies, simply because of the reputation of its author-poet, Dennis Lee. But what a shame! The poem is typical Lee, with the brave lion besting a robber, and the illustrations are bright and colourful. But Lizzie lacks the appeal of other poetry heroines (such as Belinda in Ogden Nash’s “The Tale of Custard the Dragon”) and as for the lion — give me Custard any day. For just one poem, $8.95 seems like quite a bit of money when a bit more will buy Lee’s Jelly Belly or Garbage Delight, both of which are packed full of good rhymes, and both of which have illustrations that are far more evocative.