Abandoned! a Lion Called Kiki by Wendy Orr

Abandoned! a Lion Called Kiki by Wendy Orr

Mona's uncle Matthew works in a circus, and he always gives pretty great birthday presents. But when Mona turns eight, he gives her something better than juggling balls or stilts--a baby lion cub His note says that the cub's mother couldn't care for it properly, and he knows Mona and her grandparents can help.

Mona names the lion Kiki, and at first Kiki is like any other kitten. As she grows bigger and bigger, though, Mona realizes that Kiki needs a home which will allow her to be the wild animal she was born to be.

Fans of the Rainbow Street Shelter books will love reading about how the shelter started and how its owner, Mona, has always loved animals--starting with an adorable baby lion.

Award-winning author Wendy Orr was born in Edmonton, Alberta. The daughter of an Air Force pilot, she has since lived around the world, including several years in Colorado, France, and England. She now lives in Melbourne, Australia, but returns to North America yearly to visit her family. Wendy's many books for children have been published in 27 countries and won awards around the world. Prominent among them is Nim's Island, which was made into the 2008 film of the same name; a 2013 sequel, Return to Nim's Island, was loosely based on Orr's book Nim at Sea. Orr's 2017 novel Dragonfly Song is a Junior Library Guild Selection and a Kirkus Best Middle-Grade Books selection, and a finalist for the prestigious TD Canadian Children's Literature Award, among others. Its 2018 companion Swallow's Dance earned three starred reviews and was a USBBY Outstanding International Book and a School Library Journal Best Middle Grade Book.