View source for Precious and the Mystery of the Missing Lion : A New Case for Precious Ramotswe by Alexander McCall Smith

{{infobox2
|title=Precious and the Mystery of the Missing Lion : A New Case for Precious Ramotswe
|author=Alexander McCall Smith
|reviewer=Ruth Ng
|genre=For Sharing
|rating=5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|isbn=978-1846972553
|pages=96
|publisher=Polygon An Imprint of Birlinn Limited
|date=July 2013
|aznuk=1846972558
|aznus=1846972558
|cover=1846972558
|website=http://www.alexandermccallsmith.co.uk/home/
|video=
|summary=Delightful!  One for the parents to enjoy as much as the children!
}}
I had already previously enjoyed [[Precious and the Monkeys by Alexander McCall Smith|Precious and the Monkeys]] which is one of AMS' children's stories about his No.1 Ladies Detective Agency character, Precious Ramotswe, when she is a child.  So I was looking forward to this one about a missing lion.  I wasn't disappointed.  Once again his gentle charm shines through, and this is a delightful book to read aloud or just enjoy by yourself, however old you may be!

Precious this time has been lucky enough to go and visit her Aunt Bee at a safari camp.  Her journey to get there is not without difficulties, but no one should ever worry when Precious is around and when the truck she is riding in breaks down she has a wonderful idea about how to fix it!  At the camp there is great excitement as a film crew are there filming a movie with a tame lion called Teddy.  Teddy the lion goes missing, however, and of course Precious soon finds herself helping the adults in trying to find him again.

I love the gentle humour through the story, and the style of the writing is quite charming, with the author explaining to us how to pronounce certain words, or what different animals sound like.  Written in short chapters it's ideal for reading aloud in parts to younger school age children, or those a bit older can happily give it a go themselves.  There are illustrations throughout and although they are quite simple drawings they are striking, and my sixteen month old son has become quite obsessed with the book and looking at the pictures, roaring each time he sees the lion!

I like that in the same way the adult stories about Precious reveal the goodness of Precious, and the happiness in the simple things in life these children's stories do the same.  This one is quite exciting, with lots of lion hunting going on, but really it's the simple, wholesome ideals that stay in your mind after you have closed the book.  Definitely recommended!

You might also like to read [[Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling]]

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[[Category:Confident Readers]]