Kindle Unlimited
Unlimited reading. Over 4 million titles. Learn more
Read and Listen for Free
OR
Kindle Price: $2.99

Save $11.96 (80%)

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Audiobook Price: $17.50

Save: $15.51 (89%)

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the authors

Kaye Starbird
+ Follow
Nancy Pearl
+ Follow
See all
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Lion in the Lei Shop (Nancy Pearl's Book Lust Rediscoveries) Kindle Edition

by Kaye Starbird (Author), Nancy Pearl (Introduction) Format: Kindle Edition
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 533 ratings
See all formats and editions

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.

Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    293 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    AmazonEncore
  5. Publication date
    May 28, 2013
  6. File size
    627 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
Next page

Editorial Reviews

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."

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00A6HCF1E
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ AmazonEncore (May 28, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 28, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 627 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 293 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1611098041
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 533 ratings

About the authors

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Previous page
  1. Kaye Starbird

    Kaye Starbird

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    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.

    See more on the author's page
  2. Nancy Pearl

    Nancy Pearl

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    From Nancy: My lust for books and reading began when I was a very young child, and has continued unabated for lo, these many many years. Every time I open a new book to read, it's like embarking on a voyage to an unexplored place that just might be filled with wonder and excitement.

    The books I love most tend to have three-dimensional characters and be very well-written (although that definition is fluid). I read everything - mysteries, non-fiction (especially history, memoirs, and current events), literary fiction, science fiction and fantasy, andchildren's books (lots and lots, for my upcoming book, Book Crush), and anything else that looks interesting. I love first novels.

    More About Nancy: Nancy Pearl is a librarian and lifelong reader. She regularly comments on books on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition. 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."

    See more on the author's page
Next page

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
533 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Miss Fix it
5.0 out of 5 stars an extraordinary view of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, seen through the eyes of a child and her mother.
Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2014
Verified Purchase
a creative and sensitive account of a military family living through the wartime events in Hawaii, and how the clear eyed perspective of the mother and the dramatic fantasies of a six year old intertwine and create a poignant tension between them. The innocence of childhood is altered and the fantasy lion becomes part of the myth that connects her to a missing father. Her mother is forced to reinvent a life for them all. A richly textured novel evokes the harsh bitterness of wartime losses without sentimentality, and with great humanity . A great one for a screenplay!
Helpful
 Report
Michael Sholders
4.0 out of 5 stars The Family Side of the Attack on Pearl Harbor
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2014
Verified Purchase
What makes this book doubly interesting are these two items: (1) It is a story that revolves around Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; it is a story about the families of the military men, not the military men. That perspective is unusual and important. (2) It is written in alternate chapters from the wife of an Army soldier and then a daughter of that same Army soldier. Now the perspective cuts two pathways. Those perspectives make this story an important read to understand the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor from a purely human emotion point of view; not politics, not heroism nor leadership, but honest, gut wrenching fear coupled with bravery of these wives and families of those who were called to fight the war. Well written, the emotions are almost palpable.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Linda Marcus
3.0 out of 5 stars Historical novel moderately good read.
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2013
Verified Purchase
At times this book is a little tedious with action slow moving, and character study emphasized much more than plot. However, the use of storytelling from the viewpoint of two persons, the young child, and the mother is an interesting creative device; and the subject, the pivotal attack at Pearl Harbor that changed the quiet lives of everyone in the proximate neighborhood is well done. It rates high enough for me to finish it, but I am looking forward to a book with a little more action for my next read.
Helpful
 Report
L. Blackwell
5.0 out of 5 stars Also pretty scary. This was a good read--enjoyable
Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2014
Verified Purchase
This is a unique book for a number of reasons. It is a world war II story from a feminist viewpoint, one a young child and the other her mother. I was probably a couple of years older then Marty, the young child she December 7th started. I was also assigned to Scholfield Barracks during the late fifties and know where the officers' housing was.

I hadn't thought of it until I read this book that the people on Oahu weren't sure if the Japanese would invade the island. That must have been scary. I had also forgotten how class (rank) conscious the military was at that time. Also pretty scary.

This was a good read--enjoyable. I haven't finished a number of books lately because of the poor writing or poor story line. This was not one of them. Gripping to the end....a completely different WWII story.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Just Sayin'
4.0 out of 5 stars About the women and children at Pearl Harbor, not the men.
Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2014
Verified Purchase
Seems like everything I read previously about Pearl Harbor focused on the horror and desperation of our fighting men. All true, but this book tackles the day to day, week to week, issues for some of the women and kids who lived through it as well.
The author's method of presenting the story from both the mother's and the girl's side is insightful. As in any first-person description of an event, the remembrances are different. In this case the ages of the two speakers impact their experiences greatly, and the author shows that well.
I recommend Nancy Pear's Book Lust list in general. It gets me reading overlooked titles I normally wouldn't select.
Helpful
 Report
Maddiegg
5.0 out of 5 stars A Different Point of View
Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2013
Verified Purchase
I really enjoyed this book. In fact I liked it so much I loaned it to my husband to read and he is also fascinated with both the writing and the story. The differing tales told by the child and the adult sharing the same experiences made me reflect on my own childhood memories and how they might differ from my Mother's point of view. I have read a bit about WWII but never from the point of view of the civilians in Hawaii on December 7th. For them the war really started on that day while the rest of the country had months to prepare and gear up for the fight. I have to put in a word of praise for Nancy Pearl's Book Lust Rediscoveries. I have read several of them and intend to read more. She has turned me on to books that I missed (or perhaps was too young to read) when they were first published. Thanks Nancy!
12 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
AvidReader
4.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic...
Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2013
Verified Purchase
This book was slow to start, but for a reason. It allows you to get invested in the atmosphere of Hawaii, and the characters. Although I have lived in Hawaii, heard many stories about WWII, I don't think I ever stopped to really think, or appreciate what the wives and children went through. After reading this marvelous book, it puts a new perspective on the sacrifices all Americans made. Well written, of course, but there's something about this writing that lets you feel the mood of the room the characters are standing in....Will be talking about this book for a long time
Helpful
 Report
Dianne
2.0 out of 5 stars Repetitious and tedious
Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2014
Verified Purchase
I actually got a headache reading this book.

I purchased this book to read because it dealt with the bombing of Pearl Harbor from the wives and childrens' points of view. The chapters alternate from the child to the mother, but with a few exceptions (no two people ever see things exactly the same), the chapters were rather repetitive. I'm not one for repetition or seeing the same movie over and over (I bore quickly), so I found this book tedious. I stuck it out though, and the last part of the last chapter was worth reading - for me, anyway.
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

VM 22
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in Canada on November 11, 2013
Verified Purchase
This book is very well written. It is presented from two different perspectives, Mom and daughter. There has been so much information given on this time in history but always from a skier or historians point if view. This book provides the reader with insight into what the women and children at home experienced and sacrificed. Well done.
Report
Heather Mackenzie
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 20, 2014
Verified Purchase
Loved this book.
Report
heather
4.0 out of 5 stars A Slow Read
Reviewed in Canada on May 19, 2014
Verified Purchase
I enjoyed this book though wasn't chomping at the bit to pick up my kindle and get back to it. I learned about the evacuation of the Americans from Pearl Harbor during WW2, details of which were previously unknown to me. The last quarter of the book was the best part.
Report
Maggie Day
4.0 out of 5 stars the lion in the lei . shop
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 17, 2013
Verified Purchase
The story told from two peoples point of view was at times confusing, but after a couple of chapters it became intriguing to notice the differences and made it more plausible. We all remember things in a different way and it gave a, lot of detail about the people caught up in Pearl Harbour. I enjoyed it.
Report
Monkey Rooney
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read
Reviewed in Canada on February 4, 2014
Verified Purchase
It is a good read that kept me wanting more. I really liked the two different views of mother and child.
Report

Report an issue


Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report