Joy Adamson to a number of publishers before it was bought by Harvill Press, part of HarperCollins. Published in 1960, it became a bestseller, spending 13 weeks at the top of "The New York Times" Best Seller list and nearly a year on the chart overall. The success of the book was due to both the story of Elsa and the dozens of photographs of her. Readers had pictures of many of the events of Elsa's life leading up to her release. Subsequent books were also heavily illustrated. "Born Free" received largely favorable reviews from critics. Adamson worked closely with publishers to
The Song of the Lioness theme being played up in the series has been a big part towards the use of these novels in classes as it teaches some of the faults towards bullying and what is wrong with it and why this book is worth teaching. American author Tamora Pierce published "Alanna: The First Adventure," the first book in "The Song of the Lioness" quartet, in 1969. Tamora Pierce is said to have turned to writing at a young age as a means of escape from a troubled family life. Pierce drew much of her inspiration from other fantasy series such as The Lord