“Children enjoy hearing this story many times, amused at what they recognize to be the lion’s lack of objectivity and his unreasonable fear. With each rereading, the lion’s predicament and his reaction to it become more familiar … [which] provides a base on which the child can come to understand egocentricity and irrationality at successive depths later in life.”
—Denise Nessel, Ph.D., Senior Consultant with the National Urban Alliance for Effective Education; Library Media Connection: The Professional Magazine for School Library Media Specialists

“This memorable tale, which is known to almost every Afghan, can teach children and adults valuable lessons about fear that unfold gradually, as one is ready for them. … Rodriguez’s illustrations are expansive, jovial, and colorful.” —Multicultural Perspectives: An Official Journal of the National Association for Multicultural Education

“A delightful tale from an oral tradition many centuries old, illustrated with warmth, humor and the detail that children love. A thirsty lion, afraid of his own reflection in a pool of water, overcomes his fear while his jungle friends look on.” —Great Lakes Booksellers Association

“My child has been struggling with anxious feelings at bedtime. After the school assembly [where the story The Lion Who Saw Himself in the Water had been shared], we practiced a calming breathing technique we’d learnt, and then retold The Lion Who Saw Himself in Water together. I was surprised and relieved when he went to sleep easily for the first time in ages.” —Recounted by a mother in Ipswich, UK, to Ezra Hewing, Head of Education at the mental-health charity Suffolk Mind

“Rodriguez’s illustrations are expansive, jovial, and colorful.” —School Library Journal