The Lion and the Unicorn Book

Lenny Levi is evacuated to the country during the second world war. Both his Mum and his Dad, away fighting in France, tell him he has to be brave. Being brave is very hard when you're all alone and being picked upon at school. All Lenny has to comfort himself with is his father's badge with a lion and a unicorn fighting each other on it. When he finds a secret garden with a unicorn statue in it Lenny, at last finds somewhere he feels comfortable. It is here that Lenny meets a young man, wounded in the war, who tells him about different kinds of courage and whose wise words help him to realise that he is strong enough to face up to anything he has to. Shirley Hughes' minutely observed, beautifully executed illustrations conjure up a world that is full of charm and activity; she is able to evoke a whole mood through the turn of a head or the clasp of a hand. Ideal for anyone who has ever felt homesick or alone, this book also reflects what it was like to live through the traumas of the second world war. --Philippa ReeceRead More