K-Gr 2—Mr. Tiger lives in a perfectly fine world of prim and proper ladies and gentlemen. One day, the stiff suits, dainty teas, and Victorian manners begin to bore him… and he has a very wild idea. This "it's okay to be different" story stands out from other picture books on the topic thanks to Brown's delightfully clever illustrations and masterful compositions. From the tiger-striped cover that begs to be petted to the ingenious pops of bright orange (Brown's new signature color?) amid muted browns and grays, the award-winning illustrator does not disappoint. Children will appreciate Mr. Tiger's transformation and the way his friends eventually accept his (and their own) uniqueness. Several wordless spreads encourage audience participation while subtle visual clues gently build his character. A full spread featuring the newly liberated Mr. Tiger au naturel is delivered with pitch-perfect comedic timing and is guaranteed to inspire wild giggles. Sure to be an instant read-aloud classic in classrooms and libraries.—
Kiera Parrott, Darien Library, CTMr. Tiger walks upright and wears a top hat and a handsome coat with a bow tie, fitting in with the rest of society. But his orange fur provides the only spot of color in the very drab, very proper community, and Mr. Tiger is bored: “He wanted to loosen up. He wanted to be…wild.” And so, Mr. Tiger drops to all fours and for the first time looks happy. As he gets progressively wilder, roaring and shedding his confining clothes, the town animal-folk are appalled and banish him to the wilderness—which, he decides, is “a magnificent idea.” This is a book made for storytime, with its bold mixed-media illustrations that work almost like a storyboard moving left to right, and a plot with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Children, who get tired of grownups and their requests for proper behavior, will relate to the proud joy Mr. Tiger clearly feels when he is free to be wild, and also to his eventual feelings of loneliness. The happy ending, almost a reverse of Where the Wild Things Are, includes everyone discovering the fun of being at least a little bit wild. susan dove lempke
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