Ravi’s Roar

PreS-Gr 1–A small boy turns into a ferocious beast after a frustrating day. Ravi is the smallest person in his family, even smaller than Biscuits, the dog. Most of the time he doesn’t mind; but one day it all becomes too much, and in a rage Ravi turns into a tiger. Being a tiger is great, since no one dares to say no to a scary, roaring tiger. But after all his roaring, snatching, and screaming alienates the other kids on the playground, Ravi realizes that being a tiger isn’t actually making him happy. It’s at this point that Ravi’s family catches up and with a hug and an apology, he is back to being a kid again. The digitally created illustrations feature detailed textures and line work. When Ravi’s tiger transition begins, the background fades to black and white to further highlight the emotions writhing around him in bright red squiggles and splotches. Readers will notice how this visible indication of Ravi’s anger slowly builds with each mounting frustration. The text consists mainly of Ravi’s thoughts, delivered with the perfectly recreated cadence of a totally exasperated kid. Ravi’s family is never upset at him for being angry, they just wait for his anger to fade. Even Biscuits looks understanding. Ravi’s father’s reassurance of, “That’s okay, good job for saying sorry!” encapsulates the message to all readers that anger is okay and that forgiveness is yours if you ask for it.