Jim, Who Ran Away from His Nurse, and Was Eaten by a Lion

Mini Grey is the author-artist of the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award–winning picture book Traction Man Is Here! and its sequel, Traction Man Meets Turbodog. The books received five and six starred reviews, respectively. Her quirky, off-the-wall humor can also be seen in The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon, The Very Smart Pea and the Princess to Be, Ginger Bear, and Egg Drop.

Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953) wrote the now-classic cautionary tale Jim in 1907. It was written as a satirical response to the didactic morality tales popular for children in Victorian times and was intended as much for adults as children. He lived and died in England.

Grade 2 Up Chess' clever comic illustrations capture the witty black humor of Belloc's verse, taken from his 1908 collection, Cautionary Tales for Children. Definitely not for those with delicate sensibilities, Jim is a tale in iambic rhyming couplets that describes the demise of a nasty spoiled brat. The pen and ink with watercolor illustrations have an early 1900s setting. The story follows the gruesome fate of the boy who willfully breaks away from his nurse on a trip to the zoo and is consumed by a hungry lion. Parodying the ending of some moral tales, Belloc ends his verse with Jim's father dispassionately cautioning his children to ``always keep ahold of Nurse /For fear of finding something worse.'' Chess' lion wickedly smiles back. Although some vocabulary may be unfamiliar to young readers, the illustrations tell the story quite well on their own. Such an irreverent tale may upset some squeamish readers, but for those who appreciate the humor, this is a delightful rendition. Yvonne A. Frey, Peoria Public Lib . , Ill.
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