Synopsis: Tiger is just a kitten, but when he plays, his imagination allows him to be anything he wants to be – especially a REAL tiger!

Review:  Nick Butterworth’s clear, clean illustrative style has immediate impact on the eye, making this book stand out from the cover alone. As many people call their cats ‘Tigger’ or ‘Tiger’, Butterworth has hit on to a winning idea with this young stripey kitten who pretends to be a real tiger.

The first page explains it all: ‘This is Tiger. He isn’t a real tiger. He’s a kitten. But sometimes, when he plays, he pretends to be a real tiger.’ The young kitten smiles straight at us, his paw dangling from the confines of the frame that surrounds him. We turn the page to see him fascinated by a pretty blue butterfly, but the next page shows his transformation into the real tiger, no longer held in a small frame but filling almost the whole space. The butterfly too is changed into a strange blue bird, but cleverly, Butterworth copies the markings from kitten to tiger so we can make the connection. There is movement throughout the illustrations, with the spread where the real tiger leaps off the page so that we can see only his back half and his tail has particular energy. A bold choice of font complements the images.

There is a nice range of verbs and a few well-chosen adjectives to bring the text alive, and the repetition of the phrase, ‘just like a real tiger’ , will encourage involvement from young readers. There’s a lovely little vignette after the main story ends, neatly tucked in above the publishing information, where the small creatures from the story are sharing their experiences – don’t miss it!

Tiger is a gift for drama – it is easy to envisage children acting out the various tigery activities and transferring the idea to other creatures. A welcome addition to the Nick Butterworth catalogue.

2006-10-15