In Jane Barclay’s touching picture book, Proud as a Peacock, Brave as a Lion, a boy sits on his grandfather’s bed, listening to the man’s wartime stories, as they get ready to attend a memorial service. As he talks, the grandfather uses animal imagery – reinforced by Benoit’s ghostly apparitions – to help explain how he felt when enlisting (“as proud as a peacock”) and when on the battlefield (“I pretended to be as brave as a lion”). The boy is proud of his grandfather, though he can see that he still bears painful scars after all these years. The boy pledges to be like an elephant and remember his grandfather’s contributions – a promise that resonates with readers as new wars draw bodies from younger generations. (Ages 4-7) mRb