The Snow Lion

Simon and Schuster 2018. Illustrated by Richard Jones

“A beautiful, touching story about the power of friendship.” Tracy Corduroy

There stood a lion as white as snow.

‘Where did you come from?’ Caro asked.

‘Oh, here and there,’ said the lion.

Published across the world, The Snow Lion has now been translated into more than twenty different languages.

The original idea for this book came from a conversation I had with my young daughter. We were talking about camouflage and she suggested that if a polar bear stood against our white kitchen wall we might not be able to see it. Instantly, I imagined a polar bear hiding in our house, and the whole story grew from there.

That the polar bear eventually became a lion, is entirely down to my editor, who had seen some of Richard Jones’ incredible lion illustrations. The animal in this story had to be large and worldly-wise to contrast with Caro, but a white lion felt rarer and stranger than the original polar bear. Richard’s work has a still, almost ethereal quality to it, which gives the book a beautiful, dream-like feel.

We’ve all experienced loneliness and uncertainty at some point in our lives, but I remember, as a child that these feelings were especially challenging. I’d like to think this story is one of hope, and that it offers some kind of reassurance that things will get better.