Thursday 22 September 2011

Elsa the Lioness and other strange things about my life....

I guess I will have to rename this "Thursday Afternoon Book Review" but something about a morning near the end of the week to snuggle up and read my reviews of bizarre and obscure books about nothing seems like a nice thought.  I will try harder for you next week.  For now, just relax, make yourself a cup of tea and enjoy my review.

My book this week is "Born Free: A Lioness of Two Worlds" by Joy Adamson.  Basically, when I go to the library I make sure I have lots of spare time and then I just wander the shelves, never in the same area, picking and choosing as I go.  Sometimes stopping to read entire books, sometimes knowing from the title that I have to read one.  This one I saw and walked past because it reminded me of Jonathon Livingstone Seagull, which was a little too much for me.  But the picture on the front cover pulled me in and I read a little bit and decided to give it a chance.

The book is about Elsa, who is adopted as a baby cub by the author Joy and her husband George, who live in Africa and do some sort of game control/travelling/animal sight seeing.  It all sounds very glamourous, especially since Africa is at the top of my "To Visit" list.  So they raise baby Elsa from a tiny cub into a lioness who is over 300 pounds.  If you love true stories about animals without a sad ending and breathtaking pictures (my fav, 300 pound Elsa lounging in a camp bed that she shared with Joy in their tent) then this book is for you.  This book is beautiful and was apparently the beginning of a movement for better treatment for animals.  In the end she wants to go free, and being responsible foster parents Joy and George let her in a way that keeps all of them together as a family. 

Borrow it from the library, if only to see the pictures, and then you can fantasize about moving to Africa and having your own baby lion cub to raise and love.  Do you have a favourite animal book that won't make me cry? 

Next week, I will try to be up and motivated early enough to get this done in the morning.

2 comments:

  1. Yes- I have a favourite animal book- it was called 'puppies need love too' and I read it every night for months when my daughter was little!

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  2. 'Elsa' always shows up in crossword puzzles ... and I should know (unemployed, enough said). The clue usually has something to do with 'Born Free lionness'. I previously had no idea what this clue or answer was about. I had simply memorized the pairing ... and when I say simply I mean it - it's shows up at least 2-3 times/week, so it doesn't take long for it to stick. So thanks for illuminating that for me. I probably could have Googled it ... but when would I have the time?

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