Green Lion Wanini

★ Reader rating 9.6 on Korea’s Yes24, with a total of 321 reviews
★ Sales index 65,106, ranked in Korea’s domestic Top 100 books for 71 consecutive weeks
★ Ranked No. 90 on the Recommended Books for Elementary School Students, Grades 3–4

“I may be weak, but together we are strong.”
This is a moving story of courage, friendship, and unity, prompting us to reconsider the true meaning of “being together.”

Wanini was once a member of a pride led by her grandmother Matiba. Matiba was a formidable lioness, highly respected and greatly feared, with unmatched hunting skills and powerful leadership. Yet her cold-heartedness meant that, in order to keep the pride strong, she expelled the weak. Wanini, branded as “useless,” was driven out of the kingdom of the savannah.

Alone and wandering, Wanini met companions who were just as overlooked on the vast African plains. Asanti was an adult male lion whose leg had been crippled by a bullet; he struggled to move. Jambo was clever, but too young and helpless, having lost his family. And there was Malaika, Wanini’s childhood playmate, who too had once been abandoned by the pride because of an injury. Though none of them were the strongest of animals, they supported one another through hunger and danger, slowly building a way of life together.

With vivid and delicate strokes, author Lee Hyun depicts the world of wild animals on the Serengeti plains, not only lions but also warthogs, hyenas, wildebeests, buffalo, baboons, and hippos, painting a natural panorama of diverse life coexisting. Children following Wanini’s journey will experience loss, escape, encounters, and transformation, facing challenges from both nature and within.

This book reminds us: every life has its value. When Wanini was most helpless, she survived famine by chewing grass and tree bark, relying on insects and bird eggs she had once ignored. In her most dangerous moments, it was Jambo and Asanti who stretched out their paws without hesitation. Those once regarded as “the weak” or “useless” became her strongest support.

Through adventure, Wanini gradually grows and, in the end, lets her roar shake the earth in her own way.

This is a fable of growth for every child who has ever been underestimated. It is dedicated to readers who have doubted themselves, and to those who know that unity is stronger than fighting alone.

Contents:
At Sunrise
Matiba’s Children
Words I Didn’t Want to Hear
The Intruder in the Night
The Heaviest Punishment
Mad Lion on the Loose!
A Familiar Scent
The Wanderer’s Way of Survival
The Male Lions
The First Hunt
Great Fortune
If an Elephant Spoke
The Edge of the Savannah
Rain
Crossing the River
War
The Great King

Author | Lee Hyun (이현)
Born in 1970 in Busan, graduated from Sookmyung Women’s University. Her works span novels, fairy tales, picture books, and theories on children’s literature, covering a wide range of themes including adolescence, academic pressure, school violence, social issues, historical wars, and the natural world of animals. Her publications include The Train Whistling Toward the Light Forever, The Star of Robots, 1945, Cheorwon, and The Jajangmyeon is Getting Mushy!. She has received the Jeon Tae-il Literary Award, the Ch’angbi Good Children’s Book Award, and the Changwon Children’s Literature Award, and has been listed on the IBBY Honour List. In 2022, she was nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award.

Illustrator | Oh Yun-hwa (오윤화)
After studying illustration at Puppet Illustration Academy, she has been creating illustrations that bring joy to both children and adults. Her picture book works include Dolphin Pacino, Definitely Go, Goo Goo Goo, The Night the Ghost Bird Wept, The Perfect Family, The One-Bite Swallow Spell Cake, Complaint Confession, and The Day Mom Hit Me with a Broom.