NANI AND THE LION

Near an African village, a lion lurks in the grasslands, frightening people and animals alike, until a little drummer girl changes the big cat’s tune.

Nani loves to drum; the music she makes echoes the sounds of nature and inspires her neighbors to dance. Cunha’s digital inks balance warm and cool tones, vibrantly contrasting human characters’ brown skin, brightly patterned dresses, and textured foliage with pink and yellow clouds and the dark blues of the forest. Each page turn leads to yet another artful spread. Animals frolic to Nani’s drumming, but farmers tending their crops are terrified of the predator who looms and shush her. As Nani ventures further out to find a space safe for her boisterous art, the world around her shifts and grows; she encounters polka-dotted giraffes and “aardwolves.” But when the lion makes himself known with thunderous roars and crushed flowers beneath his paws, the subtext of this colorful allegory about confronting bullies becomes most potent. Nani, of course, stands up to the lion, playing her drum so beautifully that he has no choice but to dance. Exhausted at last, he falls to the ground. The scene of the villagers rejoicing, their arms splayed wide above their heads, with a botanical foreground and a pink mountainous sky behind them, is exuberantly charming. The image of Nani and a slumbering lion that follows offers a serene but cohesive contrast to conclude the story.

A lion-taming tale with rhythm and heart.