A Lion Named Shirley Williamson

The newest perky animal character from the creator of Lyle the Crocodile is a lion with an unlikely moniker. The big cat's name earns her preferential treatment from Seymour the zookeeper: he serves her meals on a tray adorned with a rose and decorates her cage with a patterned rug and a potted palm. She quickly becomes the zoo's star attraction (although there are problems: people named Shirley Williamson ""didn't like sharing their name with a ferocious animal""). A consummate crowd-pleaser, Shirley loves the limelight, but nonetheless grows homesick for the wilds of Africa and for her freedom. Oddly, Waber leaves this issue hanging; next thing the reader knows, zoo officials fire Seymour and change Shirley's name to Bongo because the other lions are jealous of the attention she receives. A madcap sequence involves Shirley's escape, her reunion with Seymour in his Brooklyn apartment, and his resourceful plan to return her to the zoo. Shirley gets back her original name and Seymour is reinstated, but kids may well fret that the heroine winds up beyond bars, her dreams of freedom unresolved. Waber's waggish cartoons and comical dialogue are as enjoyable as ever, but the loose ends bar this entry from the top of the list of his largely first-rate offerings. Ages 4-8. (Oct.)