Leroy goes everywhere with his beloved guardian, Addie—OK, not the bathtub. Leroy enjoys being a stuffed lion until he sees real lions during family movie night. Leroy is mesmerized. THOSE are lions—fierce, regal protectors! At dawn, Leroy makes big plans. He loves Addie, but it’s time for him to be a real lion. When Addie leaves for school, Leroy heads downstairs and hops out the window. The ground is harder than expected, but, standing up, Leroy repeats a mantra: “I am fierce! I am king! I am the protector!” Outdoors, his resolve is tested by a bird, a cat, and an icy wind. Gazing wistfully at the house, Leroy understands he is really a protector of… Addie. He quickly returns to her room—just as she’s coming back from school. Cleaning Leroy up after his hardy adventure, Addie hugs him… fiercely. Originally published in Dutch, this is a sweet, gently humorous story about figuring out who you are. Young readers will be assured that it’s OK to take small steps toward independence and that no matter what, they’ll always be welcomed back into familiar surroundings by those they love. Accompanying the text are cozy vignettes in a limited palette of mostly light orange, white, and gray. Addie has skin the white of the page. No lion about it: This makes for very enjoyable reading, cuddled up with a favorite toy.

– Kirkus Reviews

The idea that “comparison is the thief of joy” is most appropriate in Legge’s charming tale of a stuffed lion with short-lived aspirations. Leroy lives with pink-cheeked, freckled Addie, playing pirate, reading books, and wearing a gold crown like royalty, and he is quite content—until they watch a documentary about lions. When Leroy sees what the King of the Jungle is capable of doing, he longs to become real. After Addie leaves for school one day, Leroy ventures outside through an open window and bolsters his self-confidence by stating, “I am fierce! I am king! I am the protector!” Encountering a couple of “wild” animals and getting caught in a storm are enough to convince the toy he is better off being who he is. Judiciously applied honey-yellow washes of color are used sparingly for Leroy, a school bus, and a few butterflies in otherwise black-and-white illustrations. The sweet pictures provide a series of small vignettes revealing an endearing tale about a loving child and her beloved pal.

– Maryann Owen, Booklist