The Best Children’s Books About Or Featuring Lions
“What are the best Children’s books about Lions ?” We looked at 128 of the top Kids Lions books, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!
The top 11 titles, all appearing on 2 or more “Best Kids Lions ” book lists, are ranked below by how many lists they appear on. The remaining 100+ titles, as well as the lists we used are in alphabetical order at the bottom of the page.
Happy Scrolling!
Top 11 Best Children’s Books About Lions
11 .) A Hungry Lion, or A Dwindling Assortment of Animals written by Lucy Ruth Cummins
Lists It Appears On:
- Bookroo
- Goodreads
Members of a large group of animals, including a penguin, two rabbits, and a koala, disappear at an alarming rate but the hungry lion remains.
10 .) Dandelion written by Don Freeman
Lists It Appears On:
- Barnes & Noble
- Goodreads
Dandelion overdresses for a come-as-you-are party and is turned away because the hostess does not recognize him.
9 .) Little Lions written by Jim Arnosky
Lists It Appears On:
- Storytime Secrets
- Teaching With Childrens Books
On a rocky ledge, two baby mountain lions play and purr and meow under the protection of their mother.
8 .) The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1) written by C.S. Lewis
Lists It Appears On:
- Goodreads
- Teaching With Childrens Books
Four English school children find their way through the back of a wardrobe into the magic land of Narnia and assist Aslan, the golden lion, to triumph over the White Witch who has cursed the land with eternal winter.
7 .) We’re Going on a Lion Hunt written by David Axtell
Lists It Appears On:
- Storytime Secrets
- Teaching With Childrens Books
Two girls set out bravely in search of a lion, going through long grass, a swamp, and a cave before they find what they’re looking for.
6 .) Library Lion written by Michelle Knudsen
Lists It Appears On:
- Barnes & Noble
- Goodreads
- Teaching With Childrens Books
A lion starts visiting the local library but runs into trouble as he tries to both obey the rules and help his librarian friend.
5 .) Tawny Scrawny Lion written by Kathryn Jackson
Lists It Appears On:
- Barnes & Noble
- Goodreads
- Teaching With Childrens Books
A story about a little rabbit who cures a lion of the insatiable hunger which keeps him scrawny.
4 .) The Lion and the Mouse written by Jerry Pinkney
Lists It Appears On:
- Bookroo
- Goodreads
- Teaching With Childrens Books
In award-winning artist Jerry Pinkney’s wordless adaptation of one of Aesop’s most beloved fables, an unlikely pair learn that no act of kindness is ever wasted. After a ferocious lion spares a cowering mouse that he’d planned to eat, the mouse later comes to his rescue, freeing him from a poacher’s trap. With vivid depictions of the landscape of the African Serengeti and expressively-drawn characters, Pinkney makes this a truly special retelling, and his stunning pictures speak volumes.
3 .) The Lion Inside written by Rachel Bright and Jim Field
Lists It Appears On:
- Barnes & Noble
- Bookroo
- Teaching With Childrens Books
A little mouse decides to seek lessons in roaring from the mighty lion–who happens to be afraid of mice–and the two become good friends.
2 .) Lion Lessons written by Jon Agee
Lists It Appears On:
- Barnes & Noble
- Bookroo
- Goodreads
- Teaching With Childrens Books
Learning to be a lion takes some serious lessons, but luckily, this kid has a teacher who is a real pro
1 .) The Happy Lion written by Louise Fatio
Lists It Appears On:
- Barnes & Noble
- Goodreads
- Storytime Secrets
- Teaching With Childrens Books
When the door to his house at the zoo is left open a lion decides to visit his friends, but he quickly learns that people are not nearly as polite or friendly in town as when they visit him at the zoo.
The 100+ Additional Best Kids Books About Or Featuring Lions
# | Books | Authors | Lists |
12 | 10 Reasons to Love… a Lion | Catherine Barr | Bookroo |
13 | A Kiss at Midnight (Fairy Tales, #1) | Eloisa James | Goodreads |
14 | A Lion Among Men (The Wicked Years, #3) | Gregory Maguire | Goodreads |
15 | A Lion in Paris | Beatrice Alemagna | Bookroo |
16 | A Lion Is a Lion | Polly Dunbar | Bookroo |
17 | A Spear of Summer Grass | Deanna Raybourn | Goodreads |
18 | A Visit from the Goon Squad | Jennifer Egan | Goodreads |
19 | African Lions | Teaching With Childrens Books | |
20 | Amazing Animals: Lions | Teaching With Childrens Books | |
21 | Andy and the Lion | Teaching With Childrens Books | |
22 | Animalia | Graeme Base | Goodreads |
23 | Augustus and his Smile | Catherine Rayner | The Guardian |
24 | Beast | Donna Jo Napoli | Goodreads |
25 | Born Free: A Lioness of Two Worlds (Story of Elsa, #1) | Joy Adamson | Goodreads |
26 | Caring for Your Lion | Tammi Sauer | Bookroo |
27 | Carnal: Pride of the Lions | John Connell | Goodreads |
28 | Chloe and the Lion | Mac Barnett | Storytime Secrets |
29 | Circle of Heroes (The Familiars, #3) | Adam Jay Epstein | Goodreads |
30 | Cry of the Kalahari | Mark Owens | Goodreads |
31 | Daughter of the Lion (Chronicles of the Cheysuli, #6) | Jennifer Roberson | Goodreads |
32 | Disney’s The Lion King | Don Ferguson | Goodreads |
33 | Dying to be Free | Gareth Patterson | Goodreads |
34 | Eye of Heaven (Dirk & Steele #5) | Marjorie M. Liu | Goodreads |
35 | Face to Face with Lions | Teaching With Childrens Books | |
36 | Forever Free: Elsa’s Pride (Story of Elsa, #3) | Joy Adamson | Goodreads |
37 | Geist (Book of the Order, #1) | Philippa Ballantine | Goodreads |
38 | Gracie Grabbit and the Tiger | Helen Stephens | The Guardian |
39 | How Do Lions Say I Love You? | Teaching With Childrens Books | |
40 | How to Be a Lion | Ed Vere | Bookroo |
41 | How to Hide a Lion | Helen Stephens | Goodreads |
42 | I am Cat | Jackie Morris | Goodreads |
43 | If I Were a Lion | Teaching With Childrens Books | |
44 | Ivan Tors’ Daktari Annual 1969 | Anonymous | Goodreads |
45 | Journey to Freedom | Colin Dann | Goodreads |
46 | Kings of the Jungle | Daniel S. Fletcher | Goodreads |
47 | Last of the Free | Gareth Patterson | Goodreads |
48 | Life of Pi | Yann Martel | The Guardian |
49 | Lion | William Pene du Bois | Storytime Secrets |
50 | Lion Adventure | Willard Price | Goodreads |
51 | Lion Country | Colin Dann | Goodreads |
52 | Lion Country: From the IVT Series | David Youlden | Goodreads |
53 | Lion Cubs | Ruth Owen | Goodreads |
54 | Lionel and the Lion’s Share | Lou Peacock | Bookroo |
55 | Lions | Laura Marsh | Goodreads |
56 | Lions (African Animals) | Teaching With Childrens Books | |
57 | Lions on the Hunt | Theodore J. Waldeck | Goodreads |
58 | Lions: Kings of the Jungle | Teaching With Childrens Books | |
59 | Listening for Lions | Gloria Whelan | Goodreads |
60 | Living Free (Story of Elsa, #2) | Joy Adamson | Goodreads |
61 | Lizzy the Lioness | Teaching With Childrens Books | |
62 | Lost in the Library | Josh Funk | Bookroo |
63 | Mara Simba: The African Lion | Roger A. Caras | Goodreads |
64 | Mark of the Lion (Jade del Cameron Mysteries, #1) | Suzanne Arruda | Goodreads |
65 | Monster of God: The Man-Eating Predator in the Jungles of History and the Mind | David Quammen | Goodreads |
66 | Mr. Tiger Goes Wild | Peter Brown | Storytime Secrets |
67 | Mrs. Pollifax and the Lion Killer (Mrs Pollifax #12) | Dorothy Gilman | Goodreads |
68 | My Lion’s Heart: A Life for the Lions of Africa | Gareth Patterson | Goodreads |
69 | National Geographic Kids Mission: Lion Rescue | Teaching With Childrens Books | |
70 | National Geographic Readers: Lions | Teaching With Childrens Books | |
71 | Part of the Pride: My Life Among the Big Cats of Africa | Kevin Richardson | Goodreads |
72 | Pierre | Maurice Sendak | Storytime Secrets |
73 | Pride of Baghdad | Brian K. Vaughan | Goodreads |
74 | Pride Of The Plains | Colin Dann | Goodreads |
75 | Prince Caspian (Chronicles of Narnia, #2) | C.S. Lewis | Goodreads |
76 | Rabbit Cooks Up a Cunning Plan! | Andrew Fusek Peters | Bookroo |
77 | Renato and the Lion | Teaching With Childrens Books | |
78 | Sam and the Tigers | Julius Lester | Storytime Secrets |
79 | Say What? | Angela DiTerlizzi | Bookroo |
80 | Spectaccolo | Christine Catlin | Goodreads |
81 | Spectyr (Book of the Order, #2) | Philippa Ballantine | Goodreads |
82 | Thank You, God, for Daddy | Teaching With Childrens Books | |
83 | The Barefoot Book Of Classic Poems | Jackie Morris | Goodreads |
84 | The Big Cats and Their Fossil Relatives: An Illustrated Guide to Their Evolution and Natural History | Alan Turner | Goodreads |
85 | The Cat and the Fiddle: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes | Jackie Morris | Goodreads |
86 | The Chase (Lionboy Trilogy, #2) | Zizou Corder | Goodreads |
87 | The Chronicles of Narnia (Chronicles of Narnia, #1-7) | C.S. Lewis | Goodreads |
88 | The Cinder-Eyed Cats | Eric Rohmann | Goodreads |
89 | The Cult Of The Cat | Nicholas J. Saunders | Goodreads |
90 | The Ghost and the Darkness | Dewey Gram | Goodreads |
91 | The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (Fairyland, #1) | Catherynne M. Valente | Goodreads |
92 | The Girl Who Married a Lion: And Other Tales from Africa | Alexander McCall Smith | Goodreads |
93 | The Horse and His Boy (Chronicles of Narnia, #5) | C.S. Lewis | Goodreads |
94 | The Jungle Book | Rudyard Kipling | The Guardian |
95 | The Lady and the Lion: A Brothers Grimm Tale | Jacqueline K. Ogburn | Goodreads |
96 | The Last Battle (Chronicles of Narnia, #7) | C.S. Lewis | Goodreads |
97 | The Lion and the Little Red Bird | Teaching With Childrens Books | |
98 | The Lion’s Paw | Teaching With Childrens Books | |
99 | The Lions of the North (Domesday, #4) | Edward Marston | Goodreads |
100 | The Magic Bojabi Tree | Dianne Hofmeyr | Bookroo |
101 | The Magician’s Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia, #1) | C.S. Lewis | Goodreads |
102 | The Marsh Lions: The Story of an African Pride | Brian Jackman | Goodreads |
103 | The Prisoner in the Tower | Clare O’Beara | Goodreads |
104 | The Serengeti Lion: A Study of Predator-Prey Relations | George B. Schaller | Goodreads |
105 | The Silver Chair (Chronicles of Narnia, #4) | C.S. Lewis | Goodreads |
106 | The Spotted Sphinx | Joy Adamson | Goodreads |
107 | The Tiger Who Came to Tea | Judith Kerr | The Guardian |
108 | The Tiger Who Would Be King | James Thurber | The Guardian |
109 | The Tribe of Tiger: Cats and Their Culture | Elizabeth Marshall Thomas | Goodreads |
110 | The Truth (Lionboy Trilogy, #3) | Zizou Corder | Goodreads |
111 | The Tyger | William Blake | The Guardian |
112 | The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Chronicles of Narnia, #3) | C.S. Lewis | Goodreads |
113 | The Wilderness Family: At Home with Africa’s Wildlife | Kobie Krüger | Goodreads |
114 | The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Oz, #1) | L. Frank Baum | Goodreads |
115 | Through the Skylight | Ian Baucom | Goodreads |
116 | Thuvia, Maid of Mars (Barsoom, #4) | Edgar Rice Burroughs | Goodreads |
117 | Tiger | Michael Rosen, illustrated by Kevin Waldron | The Guardian |
118 | Tiger Can’t Sleep | S.J. Fore | Storytime Secrets |
119 | Tiger on a Tree | Anushka Ravishankar | The Guardian |
120 | Time of the Lion | Caroline Pitcher | Goodreads |
121 | Two for the Lions (Marcus Didius Falco, #10) | Lindsey Davis | Goodreads |
122 | Unlikely Loves: 43 Heartwarming True Stories from the Animal Kingdom | Jennifer S. Holland | Goodreads |
123 | When Your Lion Needs a Bath | Teaching With Childrens Books | |
124 | Who is the Beast? | Keith Baker | Storytime Secrets |
125 | Why Big Fierce Animals Are Rare: An Ecologist’s Perspective | Paul Colinvaux | Goodreads |
126 | Winnie the Pooh | AA Milne | The Guardian |
127 | With My Soul Amongst Lions | Gareth Patterson | Goodreads |
128 | Zamba: The True Story of the Greatest Lion That Ever Lived | Ralph Helfer | Goodreads |
6 Best Lions Children’s Book Sources/Lists
Source | Article |
Barnes & Noble | 6 A-Roar-Able Lion Picture Books |
Bookroo | 14 Kids Books About Lions |
Goodreads | Books with LIONS in them! |
Storytime Secrets | Story Time Secrets: 10 Picture Books About Lions & Tigers |
Teaching With Childrens Books | 25 Engaging Children’s Books About Lions |
The Guardian | Top 10 tigers in children’s books |