A Tiger Like Me

Wildness is part and parcel of everyday childhood, embraced here with a roar.

PreS-Gr 2--The German duo behind Elephantastic pair up again to bring a day in the life of a tiger, or at least a young child's day pretending to be one. Through text that reads like a voice-over of a nature show, readers enter the child's first-person narration. Waking in his tiger suit with a "woar, woar, woar," the tiger escapes the harrowing morning bathroom routine, because tigers don't like soap or brushes hitting their beautiful fur, before their breakfast of tiger flakes and blood (orange juice). Tigers like to hide, play in the snow, and cause mischief--but ultimately, at the end of the day, they like making crafts with their tiger families, and cuddling up to go to sleep. Watkinson's translation captures the rhythmic and energetic language, making this a ferociously fun read-aloud full of alliteration and assonance. Tourlonias's digitally rendered illustrations add layers while always putting the young child in the forefront. Her blurred lines and paint splotches add energy and transitions between the human world and the child's imagination, while showing the child's home as the world and ecosystem in which this particular tiger thrives. Readers will delight in finding the hidden stuffed animals that move from scene to scene on every spread. VERDICT Sure to please tigers of all ages, this serves as a great addition to early literacy collections showing the emotional learning that comes through play, imagination, and pretending.--Danielle Jones, Multnomah County Library, OR