2 Stars
Pride of Baghdad is the story of four lions who escaped from the Baghdad zoo after a bombing raid. It was inspired by actual events. It probably goes without saying it wasn’t all happy-go-lucky like The Lion King . . .
Although I was totally crossing my fingers that the male lion would have a voice like Scar . . .
I was hoping the combination of a graphic novel (a/k/a pitcherbook) and the use of animals rather than people to tell the story would persuade my non-reader into reading. I thought I’d get the added bonus of the subject matter making him ponder some deeper subjects like the price of freedom . . .
“There’s an old saying, Zill. Freedom can’t be given, only earned.
Yeah, well, there’s another old saying. You don’t look a gift house in the mouth . . . you eat him.”
and making your own way in the world . . .
“We can’t wait around for some miracle to change the world for us. We have to take control of our destinies.”
as well as provide some harsh truths about war . . .
“Keepers, two leggers, Man . . . don’t matter what you call ‘em, they’re all the same.
What are they fighting about?
Damned if I know, son.”
I figured the story would keep his interest by being told from the perspective of some anthropomorphized kings of the jungle (and maybe even a few butthole monkeys) . . .
And I knew the outcome of the true events, so I was prepared for the ending and a possible discussion of why things went down the way they did. What I wasn’t prepared for was lion rape. Are you serious right now?
I’m not even going to get into an argument if there is such a thing in the wild as lions raping each other, but can we make it so my child can read something that makes him think just a little bit without throwing every-f*&^ing-hot-button-topic into the mix? FFS! (In case you were wondering, no I didn’t force the tiny human into reading this one.)
Now let’s discuss the artwork. Look at this cover . . .
DEVINE! Inside there was some pretty amazing stuff too . . .
including honest, yet horrifyingly graphic, depictions of the toll of war on the zoo . . .
Although I was totally crossing my fingers that the male lion would have a voice like Scar . . .
I was hoping the combination of a graphic novel (a/k/a pitcherbook) and the use of animals rather than people to tell the story would persuade my non-reader into reading. I thought I’d get the added bonus of the subject matter making him ponder some deeper subjects like the price of freedom . . .
“There’s an old saying, Zill. Freedom can’t be given, only earned.
Yeah, well, there’s another old saying. You don’t look a gift house in the mouth . . . you eat him.”
and making your own way in the world . . .
“We can’t wait around for some miracle to change the world for us. We have to take control of our destinies.”
as well as provide some harsh truths about war . . .
“Keepers, two leggers, Man . . . don’t matter what you call ‘em, they’re all the same.
What are they fighting about?
Damned if I know, son.”
I figured the story would keep his interest by being told from the perspective of some anthropomorphized kings of the jungle (and maybe even a few butthole monkeys) . . .
And I knew the outcome of the true events, so I was prepared for the ending and a possible discussion of why things went down the way they did. What I wasn’t prepared for was lion rape. Are you serious right now?
I’m not even going to get into an argument if there is such a thing in the wild as lions raping each other, but can we make it so my child can read something that makes him think just a little bit without throwing every-f*&^ing-hot-button-topic into the mix? FFS! (In case you were wondering, no I didn’t force the tiny human into reading this one.)
Now let’s discuss the artwork. Look at this cover . . .
DEVINE! Inside there was some pretty amazing stuff too . . .
including honest, yet horrifyingly graphic, depictions of the toll of war on the zoo . . .
But even the art failed me at some point, when the colorist decided war in a desert obviously would look very “deserty” . . .
Jeebus, there are other crayons in the box besides ORANGE!
End result? 2 Stars. It was just okay. Good news is I’ve pretty much been guaranteed Saga will make up for this one. . .
Jeebus, there are other crayons in the box besides ORANGE!
End result? 2 Stars. It was just okay. Good news is I’ve pretty much been guaranteed Saga will make up for this one. . .
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