Lion Goes Wild

Badger, Lion and the child are celebrating Easter in the countryside with Grandpa. There’s an outdoor egg hunt and many fun festivities in the village, but what will happen when Lion is just mucking around and being disobedient? And what spooky things are lurking in the dark at bedtime?

Lion Goes Wild is a delightful story about learning to appreciate the differences in others. It’s okay to be different, the most important thing is that everyone gets to play.

Publishing information

Year of publication

2024

Page count

Original title

Skyll på Lejon

Original language

Swedish

Original publisher

Förlaget M

Book series

Badger (Book 3)

About the author

Author photo of Sanna Sofia Vuori for Rights & Brands Literary Rights.

Sanna Sofia Vuori (b. 1981) is very active in the children’s cultural scene: she is the creator of the popular web show Estrids bokklubb and also the Saga children’s theatre, among other things. The delightful and ingenuous picture book The Egg, illustrated by Linda Bondestam, is her debut as a picture book author. It was also nominated for the Finlandia Junior in 2018. Vuori’s other collaborations with Cara Knuutinen gives us the lovely Badger books that are a cosy read to both children and adults. The two titles, Badger Goes Missing and Badger Meets Lion, are traditionally illustrated with warm storytelling about a child who loves her stuffed animal Badger. The second title gained a Runeberg Junior nomination in 2023.

Author page Photo of Cara Knuutinen for Rights and Brands Literary Rights.

Cara Knuutinen (b. 1965) is a teacher in art education and a beloved illustrator of various books. She was nominated for the Rudolf Koivu prize in 2009.Knuutinen’s collaboration with Sanna Sofia Vuori has brought out picture books about a plush toy Badger, which are a lovely read to both children and adults. The two titles, Badger Goes Missing and Badger Meets Lion, are traditionally illustrated stories about a child who loves her stuffed animal Badger. With warm storytelling combined with Knuutinen’s classic-styled illustrations, the second title gained a Runeberg Junior nomination in 2023.

Author page

Reviews

"In Lion Goes Wild (Skyll på Lejon), Sanna Sofia Vuori shows that she is an author of children's books who writes thoughtfully. Together with Cara Knuutinen's accurate illustrations, the book is one of the strongest picture books of the year so far. (...) The rhythm of the text is smooth and without excess - the characters' differences make them personal and endearing. (...)Vuori's situational awareness and down-to-earth descriptions make this third book in the picture book series about the girl's favourite soft toy also work as a stand-alone work. Cara Knuutinen's landscapes carry a timelessness that brings to mind childhood reading experiences with Ilon Wikland's illustrations. Each illustration feels thoughtful and contains little details and quirks that make you stay in the story. (...)The care Knuutinen has taken to make Easter present in each illustration is impressive, as is her understanding and bold choice of colours. The texture of the paper, which is occasionally visible behind the illustrations, makes the images feel particularly vivid. It is difficult to criticise a book that, in its simplicity, lacks nothing, but lands in a setting that feels kind, embracing and personal, and where every picture offers something new to discover. Vuori and Knuutinen show once again that traditional and simple picture book storytelling, when it works well, is sometimes all that is needed to create a reading experience worth returning to again and again."

Lotta Green, Svenska Yle

"Warm and embracing picture book."