Nero, the Circus Lion

A newly illustrated edition with reader's notes for tricky words. Complete and unabridged.

A log in the jungle suddenly opens a mouth full of teeth—and young Nero discovers that even a drink of water can turn into an adventure. He’s strong, curious, and still learning when to listen to his mother.

Nero prowls beneath the tangled vines of an African jungle, where a cool spring hides a crocodile and danger waits among the trees. Eager to explore, he joins his daring friend Switchie and soon finds himself facing far more than a playful tumble in the grass. When Nero ventures out on his first hunt, a bleating goat leads him into a hunter’s trap—and a painful injury sends him limping into the unknown. With his family far away and strange sounds in the darkness, can Nero find a safe place to hide—and discover where the jungle will lead him next?

This complete and unabridged edition includes reader’s notes for tricky words and shares Richard Barnum’s adventure of Nero, the circus lion.

At Wise Minds Press we believe the years between childhood and the teenage leap are a golden window: curiosity runs high, vocabulary explodes and a single page can spark a lifetime of possibility. We were those wide‑eyed readers once—hungry for challenge, eager to roam far‑flung worlds, and guided by parents and teachers who knew the right story could light the path ahead. Today we honor that legacy by bringing time‑tested classics to young readers complete and unabridged, with reader's notes for the tricky words, and original illustrations for Grades 4‑7 (Ages 9‑12).

Our mission is simple: to place in every young reader's hands a bridge to literature's greatest adventures, turning boundless imagination into confidence, empathy, and the readiness to write their own remarkable futures.