Phones down! There’s a Tiger on the Train!

There’s a Tiger on the Train by Mariesa Dulak, illustrated by Rebecca Cobb(Faber, 2024)Good to Read for:sparking imaginative playreading alouddiversifying your child’s bookshelf Spending time with my two boys as they grew up was a lot of fun! I have so many notebooks full of sketches and records of the games we used to play and funny things they said.

Here’s an example from TWENTY YEARS AGO! (Yikes!)

   

 Some have found their way into my picture books (most notably, Chalk & Cheese) and they continue to inspire me and drip-feed my story ideas.

I am so thankful I didn’t have a smartphone back then. I am easily distracted at the best of times (and, truthfully, I was often frantically scribbling something down while one of the kids demanded attention). Parents have it tough nowadays in so many ways. 

Writer Mariesa Dulak addresses the problem of being distracted by our phones in her charming picture book debut, There’s a Tiger on the Train, illustrated by Rebecca Cobb (Faber, 2004). It features a boy and his dad on an extraordinary train journey to the seaside. (It’s worth noting that they’re a mixed-race family – the father is white, the child has dark skin – which affirms kids with dual heritage and diversifies your child’s bookshelf.)

It starts off normally enough with them sat waiting on the platform. It’s a scenario that most kids will immediately identify with – Dad is busy with his phone, the boy is hugging his bucket and spade, eagerly awaiting the train’s arrrival. They board the train and their outing begins. But guess what? Dad remains so engrossed with his phone that he doesn’t notice that strange things are afoot.

 

You’ll never guess what happened

On our trip down to the sea…

A tiger in a top hat

Came and sat right next to me!

   

The tiger isn’t scary. In fact, he’s quite a gentleman. He growls, ‘Good morning,’ takes a comic from his hat and begins reading.

 

‘Hey Dad! Did you see THAT?’

 

Dad looks up, but the tiger is hidden behind his comic.

The train rumbles on – CLANK RUMBLE, CLANK-CLANK RUMBLE – down to the sea. At the next stop, ‘a crowd of crocodiles with spades and rings and buckets’ joins the carriage. But Dad is too busy on his phone to notice.

At each stop, more animal passengers get on.

Three large hippos embark with a picnic hamper.

Then a crowd of piglets (plus jaded mum).

Next, two pugs (wearing ‘fine hats and dresses that trailed along the floor’).

Finally, a little mouse.

   

Cobb’s characters have a child-like charm that children will be drawn to, and her style lends a timeless feel to the story (despite Dad’s ever-present mobile phone). (Having a steam train with doors that go KA-CLUNK! (rather than Fssshhhhhh!) helps in that respect, too (as do details such as the wicker picnic hamper, top hat and playing cards).

Did I mention someone hands out sweeties? It’s a fun touch that kids will, of course, love!

   

Dad’s attention is focused on his phone and he remains unaware of the accumulating menagerie of passengers and ensuing mayhem as things become increasingly chaotic!

   

Dad doesn’t bat an eyelid—not even when the tiger ROARS!

Neither does he notice when mummy pig sneezes - ‘Aaahhchooo!’

KA-CLUNK! The door swings open, ‘and like a mighty tidal wave the creatures dashed outside.’

Dad is oblivious to it all.

The boy wonders:

 

Had the tiger vanished too?

I glanced around to check,

Then, I felt his tickly whiskers

And his breath upon my neck!

 

The boy looks up to see the tiger on the overhead luggage rack.

 

He looked at me. He looked at Dad.

His eyes gleamed amber bright.

   

Until now, the tiger has been a perfect gentleman. He reminds me of the one that came to tea in Judith Kerr’s classic (although Kerr’s feels slightly sinister as if it might eat Sophie or the milkman at any moment). Cobb’s top-hatted tiger appears friendlier – but now the reader is uncertain. It’s a great moment of tension!

Kids will be relieved (and no doubt cheer!) when the page turn reveals the tiger snatching the phone and gulping it with one bite!

I love the joy and cheekiness of the last few spreads. The tiger leaps over Dad’s head with the boy on his back and races towards the sea.

   

‘Stop!’ a voice was shouting.

‘Hey, tiger…

Wait for ME!’

 

At long last, Dad is present! He runs after the tiger and his son, and they all end up tumbling playfully in the sand. They don’t stop – not even for the muffled ringtone coming from the tiger’s tummy! Finally, the boy has what he craves – his dad’s attention. It’s a beautiful moment and a lesson for us all.

    There’s a Tiger on the Train is such a playful story with rhyming text that rolls along nicely. (I especially like the varied repetition in the CLANK-RUMBLE of the train.)

Dulak wrote it in response to the genuine problem of ‘phubbing’ (ignoring someone because you are distracted by your mobile phone), which researchers show undermines relationships and our children’s mental health. To phub or not to phub? – that’s not really the question. As Dulak goes on to say in her article for Book for Topics:

 

A staggering 70% of parents say they feel distracted by their mobile phones when they spend time with their children. And studies show that the more parents phub their children, the more socially disconnected that child feels towards them.’

– Mariesa Dulak,  Books for Topics  

Dulak confronts the problem with a deft touch. Tiger on the Train is not heavy-handed; rather, as Charlotte Eyre of The Bookseller notes, Dulak instills the story ‘with a sense of gleeful, adventurous chaos’, aided and abetted by Cobb’s illustrations, which add layers of humourous details to discuss. As for the tiger who keeps a comic in his top hat, there’s plenty of discussion and imaginative games to be had there!

So try not to miss those simple pleasures that form the early years of your child’s life (or, as Dulak urges, ‘stop scrolling and start making some memories’). Sharing quality picture books like Tiger on the Train is a beautiful way to be present and connect with your kids. Trust me – you won’t regret it. Your kids will tower over you in no time, and then you’ll be paying them to build your flat-pack furniture!

    (For more hand-picked recommendations, check out my blog archive or online bookstore powered by  Bookshop.org .)   Tips for sharing There’s a Tiger on the Train

Spend time looking carefully for extra details that add to the written story – such as the tiger’s legs amongst those of the passengers boarding the train or the unexplained basket of apples and feather boa.

Tiger on the Train will likely lead to requests for a day out on the train! If you’re lucky (in the U.K., at any rate), you may even find a steam train. Pack some picture books to kill time while waiting at the station…

Focus on one group of characters – for example, the pugs – and follow their antics through the story. What do they end up doing at the beach?

There’s a Tiger on the Train by Mariesa Dulak, illustrated by Rebecca Cobb(Faber, 2024)Good to Read for:sparking imaginative playreading alouddiversifying your child’s bookshelf Copyright © 2024 Mariesa Dulak (Text) & Rebecca Cobb (Illustrations)From THERE’S A TIGER ON THE TRAIN by Mariesa Dulak & Rebecca Cobb(Faber)Sketchbook page c 2006 Tim Warnes GOOD TO READ

Picture books with terrific tigers!

The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr

Tiger Wild by Gwen Millward

Tiny Little Fly by Michael Rosen & Kevin Waldron

The Sea Tiger by Victoria Turnbull

BUY THE BOOKPowered by Bookshop.orgSupporting independent bookshops “An absolute must have for classrooms and libraries.

– Amanda Shipton, teacher (ReadingZone)

“a joy to read aloud” 

- C.L.P.E. Centre for Literacy in Primary Education

  BUY U.K. BUY U.S.A. * I EARN COMMISSION FROM THESE LINKS #AD/AFF RELATED ARTICLES SOURCESThere’s a Tiger on the Train by Mariesa Dulak & Rebecca Cobb (Faber, 2024) ‘Phubbing’ and Parents on Phones in There’s a Tiger on the Train – Mariesa Dulak , Books for TopicsRebecca Cobb on Instagram Are you stuck for quality stories that you and your kids will enjoy? Sign up for your free weekly email with story recommendations and tips. SIGN UP HERE © 2024 BY TIM WARNES(UNLESS OTHERWISE ATTRIBUTED)****USE OF THIRD-PARTY COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL FALLS UNDER FAIR USE/FAIR DEALING PRACTICE