A Five-Star Review – for Lion Scream: Syllabic Poetry About Southern African Wildlife by Robbie Cheadle

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I’m delighted to share my latest review, for Robbie Cheadle’s brilliant new book: Lion Scream: Syllabic Poetry About Southern African Wildlife. Robbie was inspired to write this book by her extensive travels to African game reserves and the understanding that gave her about the sixth mass extinction. Needless to say, this book is very moving, informative and impactful.

Lion Scream: Syllabic Poetry About Southern African Wildlife by Robbie Cheadle

What Amazon Says

Do you rely on Earth for your survival?

Lion Scream is a graphic collection of poetry and prose. The book portrays the author’s experiences with South African wildlife and the growing impact of the Sixth Mass Extinction and Climate Change on the natural environment.

Lion Scream
There is no jungle
Only acres of smooth stumps
There is no jungle
No habitat, no food source
Hopeless lion screams tonight

“In this reflective collection of syllabic poetry, poet Roberta Cheadle weaves words, emotions, and images as she recounts her soul-stirring journey around South Africa in 2022. She highlights the plight of the animals in the face of the Sixth Mass Extinction, during a visit to Ukutula Lodge & Game Reserve. Lion Roar is a poetic and photographic roadmap to the heart & soul of South Africa with highlights about the increasing impact of global warming on humanity and the greater planet. A must read!”
—Colleen M. Chesebro, Author of Word Craft: Prose & Poetry, The Art of Crafting Syllabic Poetry

My Review

5 Stars – Profound and thought-provoking – a poetry book for our times

Reading Robbie Cheadle’s new book is a profound, thought-provoking and enlightening experience. She teaches us about wildlife in southern Africa with a unique collection of poetry and images, and all of her beautiful poems managed to tug at my heartstrings.

Each chapter is dedicated to specific animals, including lions, tigers, cheetahs, hippos, and elephants. She ties in the effect of the Sixth Mass Extinction, and how habitats have been lost in the current climate crisis. The planet, she explains, has experienced five previous mass extinction events, the last one having wiped out the dinosaurs. She also ties in the heartbreaking impact of poaching, illegal trading in exotic animals, and shrinking habitats caused by various human actions. Reading this book is a wonderful way to become educated on these issues.

The author lives in Africa and clearly has a close affinity to these animals. She provides plenty of background information and links to videos, including those she has taken showing us her own experiences in game reserves. This adds deeply to the impact. I loved her writing about the so-called ugly five: warthogs, hyenas, wildebeest, vultures and the marabou stork. She has a deep love of elephants, and her poem Elephant Scare describes an encounter she had with a bull elephant. I also loved her poems about the cape buffalo and lions. It was my first introduction to hadada ibis, but I was delighted to learn about them.

She concludes with a short story that ties in very well with the rest of the book, referring to the impacts of all these changes on the mental health of young people.

This was a profound book, and I give it a resounding five stars.

You can follow author Robbie Cheadle on her website here: https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/

Thank you for stopping by. My name is Toni Pike, a multi-genre author who loves writing thrillers for adults, non-fiction, and hilarious books for children.

I’m the author of LINDA’S MIDLIFE CRISIS, DESOLATION BLUFF, DEAD DRY HEART and The Jotham Fletcher Mystery Thriller Series: THE MAGUS COVENANT, THE ROCK OF MAGUS, THE MAGUS EPIPHANY and HOLY SPEAR OF MAGUS.

The Brody Cody Series is for children aged 6-9: BRODY CODY AND THE STEPMOTHER FROM OUTER SPACE and BRODY CODY AND THE HAUNTED VACATION HOUSE.

I’m also the author of two non-fiction books. THE ONE WAY DIET is a no-nonsense guide to losing weight and HAPPY TRAVELS 101 is a short book of travel tips.

All my books can be found HERE.

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41 thoughts on “A Five-Star Review – for Lion Scream: Syllabic Poetry About Southern African Wildlife by Robbie Cheadle”

  4. olganm's avatarolganm

    A great review of Robbie’s book. She is passionate and knowledgeable about the subject, as you say, and her book sounds like an excellent way for others to learn about it and become more aware of what is at stake. Congratulations to her and thanks, Toni.

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    1. Toni Pike's avatarToni Pike Post author

      Thank you so much, Terri – I agree, Robbie’s book is deeply moving, and it is heartbreaking. Thank you for your lovely comments. I think my next book will be for adults, but a long way to go yet. Hugs, Toni xx

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