The Last Tiger: A Story of Hope

by Becky Davies (Author) Jennie Poh (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

In this timely story of the effects of climate change, Aasha the tiger watches her beautiful home change right before her eyes--and is forced to find another place to call home.

Aasha the tiger loves her beautiful forest home, full of tigers, boars, and other animals. But one day, the forest begins to change. The hot days became hotter. The wet days became wetter--so wet, in fact, that there are floods that force many of the animals to find other places to live. And then the humans enter the forest and begin taking down the trees, which forces Aasha out. Will she ever find a new place to call home? Includes back matter on climate change and conservation efforts.

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School Library Journal

K-Gr 2--Aasha is a tiger facing rapid climate change and habitat loss. Tigers and other animals disappear around her, until her entire forest home is razed by machines and she finds herself completely alone in a bleak deforested landscape with just one other animal left, an orangutan named Teman. Together Aasha and Teman forge a friendship and find a new, pristine forest to live in. The plot has a couple of small holes, vacillating between verisimilitude and metaphorical fantasy. Aasha refers to the boar as her favorite meal and yet befriends and travels with the orangutan, for whom tigers are a natural predator. And while ending a story about climate change with a hopeful outcome is certainly developmentally appropriate for the intended audience, no avenues for change are offered and the idea that displaced animals can simply walk to a new forest provides shallow comfort. Back matter contains a letter from the creators, a glossary, and short lists of some animals that are extinct and other endangered animals that can still be saved. VERDICT Packing an emotional punch, this book provokes appropriate concern for habitat loss, but it misses the mark with a slightly disjointed narrative and contrived happy ending.--Mallory Weber

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Becky Davies
Richard Merritt has published over 70 children's books. His body of work spans a broad section of the illustration world, from editorial, packaging design, games and education, to children's publishing, cover design, fashion and costume drawing for Hollywood blockbuster films such as Lincoln, Jack The Giant Slayer, Disney's The BFG, and The Witches. Formerly an agent, he now illustrates full-time from his home in London, England. Find out more about Richard at richard-merritt.com.

Richard Merritt has published over 70 children's books. His body of work spans a broad section of the illustration world, from editorial, packaging design, games and education, to children's publishing, cover design, fashion and costume drawing for Hollywood blockbuster films such as Lincoln, Jack The Giant Slayer, Disney's The BFG, and The Witches. Formerly an agent, he now illustrates full-time from his home in London, England. Find out more about Richard at richard-merritt.com.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781680102727
Lexile Measure
560
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Tiger Tales
Publication date
February 22, 2022
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV002150 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Lions, Tigers, Leopards, etc.
JUV001010 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure | Survival Stories
JUV029010 - Juvenile Fiction | Nature & the Natural World | Environment
Library of Congress categories
Picture books
Tiger
Climatic changes
Forests and forestry
Agricultural conservation

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