We Are Lions!

Winner of the Nordic Council Children and Young People’s Literature Prize 2020, We Are Lions! tells the story of two brothers who play wild and hunt their parents for fun until their imaginary savannah changes from their familiar backyard to a hospital ward. We Are Lions! is a beautiful portrayal of sibling friendship and companionship, told by the little brother’s point of view, who keeps their games going even when his big brother gets very sick and needs to stay at the hospital.

Truly good picture books have text and illustrations that complement each other, acting together to form a single story told by two forms of communication, and We Are Lions! is a masterful example of this. Mattsson’s tone is simple and playful, like a child’s experience of the world, preserving the authenticity of the little brother’s loving yet naïve point of view. But while the author’s words take the reader into the child’s adventures in a pretend-play savannah full of brotherly fun, regardless of their location or the big brother’s health, Lucander’s illustrations present a completely different layer of the story. Using line drawings, watercolours, and digital collage, the illustrations show to the attentive reader the seriousness of the situation. Through Lucander’s work, the reader is able to understand the gravity of the situation by facing the parents’ worry turn into despair, the escalation of the big brother’s illness, and the overall feeling of helplessness and grief that a family dealing with a terminal illness feels. The extremely opposite tones of the two layers that build this story result in the most delicate of approaches to death, and the resulting tenderness of this picture book makes it a timeless and precious piece of children’s literature.

Dealing with themes like illness, death, and grief, We Are Lions! is a picture book that can be used to introduce these hard but important topics to a wide variety of readers. On the other hand, it can also help children who have faced grief in their lives understand it better and not feel as alone in it. As there is no age limit to learn about grief and its impact on families, I don’t believe there is an age limit for being moved by this touching picture book either.