Official Review: Lyin' Brian the Cryin' Lion

[Diana Lowery]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Lyin' Brian the Cryin' Lion" by Terry Ayrault.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Lyin' Brian The Cryin' Lion is a children's book written by Terry Ayrault. The story is about an adorable lion who has trouble telling the truth. Brian's best friend Paul, a bear cub, finally has enough. He confronts Brian about his exaggerations and offers him a solution for his deceitfulness.

The tall tales that Brian tells his friends are all about things that he has done in his past. These are accompanied by illustrations of Brian wearing different outfits to fit his occupations. A few of these supposed accomplishments include being a king, a jazz saxophone player, a flea trainer, and a hair stylist.

This book is purposefully designed for the story to be read to a younger reader by a more mature reader. The author states that this interaction provides an opportunity for discussion and creates a more rewarding experience. Because of this design, the story is one that adults will actually enjoy reading.

I was impressed with the number of puns, homophones, and homographs. One example is "In fact, so much water came with each lion tear that a couple of fowl sported foul-weather gear." The rhyme and meter of the story make it easy to read. Ayrault makes use of some similes that adults will appreciate. "His tears sprayed the crowd like a shook soda pop" was one of my favorites.

The message in Lyin' Brian The Cryin' Lion is clear and one that children can easily relate to. Being honest and true will generate more friendships than making up stories about yourself to impress others. The ending of the book is ambiguous and one that will need to be explained to younger children.

Although the characters are endearing, there is one scene in the book that some parents might object to. Brian is seen with a mug of beer in his hands while he "cries into his beer." Additionally, this book does not appear to have been professionally edited. For these two reasons, I am rating this book as a three out of four.

I recommend this book to parents who will be unoffended by the alcohol reference and the grammar errors such as "You're life's been quite quiet, one might call it, 'lame.'" The important message, the colorful illustrations, the vocabulary choices, and the friendly cadence are all positives that could overshadow the two negatives that I mentioned.

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Lyin' Brian the Cryin' Lion
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[Kavita Shah]

Brian the lion is a really good name (it rhymes:))
I like the concept of not being deceitful. The drinking part is something one wouldn't expect in children's book. Thank you for a great review!

[cd20]

I thought it sounded great up until the beer and lame part. I think that is completely unnecessary in a children's book. To me, it is just another way of making children grow up to fast by exposing them to things that are not needed when they are that young. Why would you teach that a quiet life is lame? What are you encouraging. Maybe the overall premise outweighs these negatives, but that is such a disappointment. Thank you for an informative review.

[Urvashi Tripathi]

As I love children's books because they are simple, easy to understand and teaches lots of lessons at once, I hope I'm gonna love this book “Lyin' Brain The Cryin' Lion” too. "His tears sprayed the crowd like a shook soda pop", I loved this line too. Thank you for your amazingly written review.

[MsH2k]

Hmmm—the beer is an odd inclusion in a children’s book. But I like the idea of intentionally writing the story to be read to a younger child by a more mature reader. Thank you for your excellent review!