I’m not entirely sure what to think about A Lion to Guard Us . It’s historical fiction: the story of three young children in London and later on a journey to the new world. The children never existed, but a lot of the events that that happened either could have happened (their life in London) or in a general (the Sea Adventure was a real ship and the problems with it’s journey and Jamestown are real history).

For the most part, it’s a depressing story. The children’s father is an ocean away, their mother is sick ( and dies, to little surprise for older readers ), the family taking care of them is exploitive, their stand in father figure also eventually dies , and they get shipwrecked . On the other hand, I suppose it’s a good way to teach the idea of ’no matter what life throws at you, just keep on keeping on'?

For such a lightweight, quick read (the chapters are short), not that much actually happens. It’s not the best book, but my children enjoyed it well enough.

Off to something more interesting next perhaps?