Title: Tiger! Tiger! Stories of the Big Cat
Introduction by: Zai Whitaker
Contributors: Aditi De, Anjana Basu, Bulbul Sharma, Dhan Gopal Mukherji, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Flora Annie Steel, Hugh Allen, James McIntyre, Jim Corbett, Maharani Sunity Devi, Pratibha Nandakumar, Raghu Chundawat, Ranjit Lal, Ruskin Bond, Ruth Plumly Thompson, S. Eardley-Wilmot, Valmik Thapar and William Blake.
Publisher: Talking Cub (an imprint of Speaking Tiger Books)
Type: Paperback
Length: 248 pages
Recommended age: 10 years+ (publisher’s recommendation is 12 years+)
The book ‘Tiger! Tiger! Stories of the Big Cat’ is a brilliant compilation of stories and poems about the most majestic big cat on earth. If you are a tiger lover or in awe of this elusive animal, then it’s time to be carried away by the prose of Jim Corbett, Ruskin Bond, Valmik Thapar and the ever dapper Ranjit Lal.
While real life tiger sightings may be elusive today, this book takes you to a world where catching a cub, playing with a cub, rearing it at home, and finally donating it to a zoo was a perfectly ordinary day in the life of the authors.
The tigers in this book are not our conventional roaring tigers. You have foolish tigers, super proud tigers, supernatural tigers and the revengeful ones too!
Spend time reading the introduction by Zai Whitaker, who puts it succinctly when she says,
“These are tiger-centric folktales, great for individual readings or read alouds.”
It’s not all about the tiger! It’s also about the clever woodcutter and the clever jackal. Intrigued? You have to read the book to discover more. Sparkling old fashioned language makes this book a collectible. Ruskin Bond is at his best,
“The loud frog chorus sounds like an old boys reunion”
and
“The streams are moon-green, there are shady glades of sal and shisham trees.”
So much for the prose. What about the poetry? The works featured in this book span William Blake’s ‘The Tyger’ to Pratibha Nandakumar’s ‘The Tigress’.
An evergreen blend of imagination and facts wrapped in colourful language, make this an outstanding read for the young and old both. There’s poignant humour, stark blood reality, and that’s why this book is hard to put down.
So here’s to tiger readings and tiger sightings for all!
If you enjoyed this review and are intrigued to buy the book from Amazon (kbc affiliate link),
CLICK & BUY NOW!Disclaimer: Vinay is part of the #kbcReviewerSquad and received this book as a review copy from the publisher via kbc.
