This fable takes the idea that little ones (our very own children) are afraid to go to sleep or afraid of the dark. The colorful Thai Argus pheasant is the little one that can't sleep in this story and he is afraid of things in the darkness. One of them being that something will eat him - tigers or panthers - if he goes to sleep and isn't alarmed in time to get away from them.

Little Lek Longtail has an exceptionally long and beautifully colored tail and this proves to be a source of not only pride but provides him with a coping skill as well. Bette Killion allows Little Lek to have a longer and more colorful tail than the real Thai Argus pheasant, but the real bird does have a rather spectacular tail and he does perch in trees as Little Lek does. Ms. Killion has aptly provided a bedtime story that will surely help children of the world learn to cope with their fear of the dark while learning about an unusual bird that lives amongst the dense foliage of the Thai rainforest.

The Thai Argus pheasant is a bird native to Thailand which is tropical. The illustrations are lush greens as one would expect the foliage to be in a tropical land. And Little Lek's feathers are bright and colorful. Beatriz Vidal allows the lush illustrations to flow uninterrupted by words and white space allowing the text its own space keeping the illustrations intact.

At the back of the book the author provides facts about the Argus pheasant that are very interesting and will provide a nice teaching opportunity.

I received a complimentary copy to facilitate a review of my personal opinions. I was not compensated. ( )

Lek Longtail is a Thai Argus pheasant with a beautiful tail, and author Bette Killion has written a beautiful tale about him, gorgeously illustrated by Beatrtiz Vidal. Wisdom is nicely understated in the text, and the images hide secret characters too, perfectly matching Lek’s fears—will a tiger find him at night when he sleeps; or a panther; how will he survive? Lek’s mother tries to comfort him, but sometimes a child, or an Argus pheasant, has to work things out for himself. In this story, Lek watches, learns, and thinks, then provides his own solution.

There’s something very satisfying in reading about a bird that learns from a man. Perhaps we aren’t the enemy of nature after all. Perhaps we, like Lek, can be proud and still kind to our world. And perhaps, like Lek, we can find our own solutions to our problems. At least, the children reading this book might be inspired to try.

Lek Longtail is a gorgeous book with an appealing storyline, thought-provoking concepts, fascinating details, and a very cool appendix of well-presented facts that will help it grow with the child.

Disclosure: I was given a copy by the publisher and I offer my honest review. ( )