Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-A wide-eyed boy nestles into his couch for a cozy read, only to be repeatedly interrupted by a full-size cartoon tiger that insists on chewing gum, growling like a bear, doing karate, blowing a whistle, then lifting the couch to find the whistle. With each offense, the animal insists, "Tiger is very sorry!" and promises to cease. Finally, the critter has a peek at the book, learns from the boy that it is about a circus tiger, and snuggles up to listen to the story. As in Tiger Can't Sleep (Viking, 2006), Fore and Alley play with sound effects and comic expressions, which will please a read-aloud audience. The spare ink drawings expand on Tiger's amusing antics, adding in a red train or midnight forest as backdrop. The Typeka text is somewhat difficult to read when holding the book aloft for crowd viewing and the tale goes on a little long for those under age four, but it will find fans in children who enjoy energetic tales.-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
A little boy tries to read his book, but he "can't read, because there's a tiger behind my couch...chomp chomp chomp...chewing gum." Observant children will notice that indeed, sticking out from behind the couch is a tail, in the same yellow and orange stripes as the jacket of the boy's book. After the boy delivers a firm, "Huh-uh, Tiger," complete with reproving pointed finger, Tiger apologizes and promises not to chomp, but as soon as the child begins reading again, the sounds of "Grrrrr Grrrrr Grrrrrrr" begin, which is the noise that a tiger pretending to be a bear makes. The mixed-media pictures show the warmly lit, cozy couch; behind the couch lies a blue wooded scene showing the bears Tiger is imagining. Perfect for story time, with its repetitive structure and sound effects, this very funny tale also has lots of child appeal as the boy takes on the adult shushing role and ends up happily reading the book (about a tiger, of course) to the tiger. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A young boy lies on the couch trying to read his book, but a tiger keeps interrupting him by chewing gum, pretending to be a bear, doing karate kicks and riding the boy's toy train and blowing its whistle. The tiger even lifts up the couch to look underneath for the whistle when he loses it. Solution? Why, read the book to the tiger, of course. Alley's soft, colorful cartoons embellish the first-person exchanges between the boy and the tiger with humorous expressions and details, producing just the right sense of playfulness. There are plenty of sound effects ready-made for enthusiastic audience participationCHOMP, Grrrrr, Hiii-YAAAAA, Choo-Choo-Chooin storytime and repeated readings, while the "turn-the-tables" device will be sure to cause giggles. The choice of an antique typeface (it looks like old-fashioned typewriter letters) seems superfluous; however, any book title with the first word READ is bound to grab attention. And the message? Catch a tiger by the tale! (Picture book. 3-5)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
