The Lion in the Lei Shop (Nancy Pearl’s Book Lust Rediscoveries)
The Lion in the Lei Shop (Nancy Pearl’s Book Lust Rediscoveries) book cover

The Lion in the Lei Shop (Nancy Pearl’s Book Lust Rediscoveries)

Paperback – May 28, 2013

Price
$14.19
Format
Paperback
Pages
292
Publisher
AmazonEncore
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1611098044
Dimensions
5.5 x 1 x 8.25 inches
Weight
11.2 ounces

Description

Review “ The Lion in the Lei Shop is a rediscovered treasure of a book that I cannot recommend highly enough. Written with insight, restraint, and flashes of humor, the story of April and Marty is the story of mothers and daughters, friendship, war, love, loss, the reliability of memory and the triumph of the human spirit. I could not put it down.” ―Helen Bryan, bestselling author of War Brides About the Author Kaye Starbird was born into a distinguished Army family in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Her poetry and prose have been published in a variety of magazines, including The Atlantic Monthly , The American Mercury , and Good Housekeeping . She is the author of four volumes of poetry for children, as well as the novel Watch Out for Mules . Nancy Pearl is a librarian and lifelong reader. She regularly comments on books on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition. Her books include 2003’s Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment and Reason , 2005’s More Book Lust: 1,000 New Reading Recommendations for Every Mood, Moment and Reason; Book Crush: For Kids and Teens: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Interest , published in 2007, and 2010’s Book Lust To Go: Recommended Reading for Travelers, Vagabonds, and Dreamers . Among her many awards and honors are the 2011 Librarian of the Year Award from Library Journal; the 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association; the 2010 Margaret E. Monroe Award from the Reference and Users Services Association of the American Library Association; and the 2004 Women’s National Book Association Award, given to “a living American woman who…has done meritorious work in the world of books beyond the duties or responsibilities of her profession or occupation.”

Features & Highlights

  • Marty Langsmith is only five years old when a strange thunder rolls across the Hawaiian sky and life as she knows it explodes into flames. With her mother, April, and hundreds of other women and children, Marty is evacuated from the ruins of Pearl Harbor and sent into a brave new world overshadowed by uncertainty and grief. Feeling abandoned by her deployed Army officer father in the wake of the attack, Marty is haunted by nightmares of the lion in the lei shop, a creature that’s said to devour happy children. But as the years pass, mother and daughter slowly begin to embrace their new life and make peace with the pain of the past. Spanning the tumultuous war years,
  • The Lion in the Lei Shop
  • deftly recaptures a dramatic chapter of American history.
  • Originally published in 1970 and reissued for a new generation of readers as part of renowned librarian Nancy Pearl’s Book Lust Rediscoveries series, this lyrical novel gives a rarely heard voice to the women and children of Pearl Harbor.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(159)
★★★★
20%
(106)
★★★
15%
(80)
★★
7%
(37)
28%
(148)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Unnecessary Lion

Author Starbird alternates perspectives between a mother, April and her daughter, Marty, to tell the story of Pearl Harbor and the resulting war. This military family was stationed there when the Harbor was bombed. The mother is in her mid twenties and still in the honeymoon phase of her marriage. Five year old Marty idolizes her Colonel daddy. Both perspectives are dead on. Neither April nor Marty seem like unreliable narrators yet their remembrances are necessarily different. What is similar is the trauma they endured. This is characterized by Marty with the metaphor of a menacing lion who suddenly invades the nearby lei shop. This lion likes to stalk and eat little girls especially read headed ones who happen to look just like Marty! Though this is an apt metaphor it's overused in my opinion and is the weakest part of the book. It wasn't needed given the moving tales of both these characters. The cutesy aspect detracts from the excellent storyline. It did provide a catchy title though.

I like that librarian Nancy Pearl is searching out books from days gone by ("Lion" is from the 70's) that might have been missed by most readers and is bringing them to our attention. "The Lion in the Leigh Shop" is one of the most straight forward, non tear jerking tales of Pearl Harbor and World War II that I've ever read. The book is personal and moving without playing with the reader's emotions.
3 people found this helpful
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A completely different perspective in this one

This book takes a different perspective than the usual Pearl Harbor story. Rather than focusing on the soldiers and men affected by the attack, this book is told by 5 yr old Marty and her mother April. Marty fears lions in the lei shop as you'll discover when you read this entertaining book. I really recommend this one as a must read. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Pearl Harbor from the perspective of the families. Mark this one down on your "To be read" list. Enjoy
1 people found this helpful
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One Star

Poorly written book.
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Interesting Concept, Weak Execution

This is really pretty mediocre. The characters are more cartoons or types than real people. There are multiple technical or writing errors, including using the same name for two different persons. And even before they get off the island the story has lost punch. The premise is good and this might have been a great story in the hands of a better writer.
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Five Stars

I loved this gem of a book and a hard time putting it down.
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Book wandered tho end was strong. Interesting story of ...

Book wandered tho end was strong. Interesting story of family experiences after bombing of Pearl Harbor that I did not know.
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What War does

An anusual tale of the events which happened as the result of the devastation of Pearl Harbour as seen through the eyes of a mother and her daughter IS worth reading but will not in my eyes be remembered as an oustanding read.
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Excellent!!!!!

Loved this book. Another great book during WW II is "The Partisan" by William Jarvis. It has a great female character and is based on actual events. Both books deserve A+++++++++
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Intriguing venue, interesting characters

We've all read stories set in Europe about the beginnings of WW2. Hawaii makes a different and intriguing venue for this story, which uses two points of view, that of a mother and her young daughter, to describe the bombing of Pearl Harbour and subsequent evacuation of military dependents. Changes in order and importance of events varies, according to the narrator, and that makes the story even more interesting for us as readers when we try to decide what really happened. The characters are well developed and we find ourselves caring about them and hoping for a better outcome than is likely to happen in wartime. This is a book well worth reading.
✓ Verified Purchase

Intriguing venue, interesting characters

We've all read stories set in Europe about the beginnings of WW2. Hawaii makes a different and intriguing venue for this story, which uses two points of view, that of a mother and her young daughter, to describe the bombing of Pearl Harbour and subsequent evacuation of military dependents. Changes in order and importance of events varies, according to the narrator, and that makes the story even more interesting for us as readers when we try to decide what really happened. The characters are well developed and we find ourselves caring about them and hoping for a better outcome than is likely to happen in wartime. This is a book well worth reading.