Tiger Can't Sleep

by S.J. Fore

The well-behaved hero of this story goes right to bed without any fuss. But the show-off tiger in his closet wants to tap-dance and play the drums. An increasingly annoyed little boy argues, scolds, and pleads. "Oops, Tiger is sorry! Tiger will be very, very quiet," Tiger promises— but it's hard to be good when you're alone in the dark. The little boy wonders if he'll ever get to sleep—until he discovers the best way to deal with a noisy tiger is to let him snuggle into bed with you.

Children who don't want to settle down at bedtime will happily recognize themselves in this adorable noisemaker.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Storytime, Humor, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Rayjan Koehler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute Children's bedtime story.

[Katelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these books. A boy who is trying to go to sleep scolds his tiger for being so noisy. Kids will identify with the tiger, trying unsuccessfully to settle down, while parents will recognize themselves in the little boy's pleas. My 3 year old and I highly enjoy this book.

[Nicole Harding · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great take on the bedtime fear of something in the closet. There is a friendly tiger in the closet who keeps making noise preventing the child from falling asleep. Finally the child takes away the potato chips, the band instruments, the tap shoes, etc. The tiger then starts boo hoo-ing. Why? Because he is scared of the dark and lonely and asks to sleep with the child. The child agrees, but you know what happens next? The tiger starts snoring. OF COURSE! Lots of fun.

[Cosette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good right before bed. I particularly enjoyed the one minute of silence. And the next. And the next.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t sleep because there’s a tiger in my closet . . . eating potato ships.
. . . Bouncing.
. . . Doing cartwheels.
. . . Tapping.
. . . Playing the Tuba.
. . . Turning the light on and off.
. . . Crying.

Crying? What happened to make Tiger cry? And what will the boy do now?

=========

The targeted audience for this charming tale is the young reader ages two through five or six. It is the perfect for a bedtime story . . . sure to strike a familiar note with youngsters. The predictable series of events as the boy tries [over and over] to sleep will delight young readers. And there’s nothing scary in the closet [just a noisy, but friendly, tiger].

Here the youngster takes the adult role while the tiger plays the part of the child who doesn’t want to go to sleep.

There’s some silliness creating humor in the story, but the young reader will see how the boy politely gives the tiger many opportunities to stop making noise until he finally learns the real reason for all the noise.

Full-color illustrations . . . including the dark [but definitely not scary] closet . . . accompany the text.

Highly recommended.

[Ayrriana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: This story takes place in a little boy's bedroom. The little boy is trying to get ready for bed, but can't go to sleep because Tiger wants to do fun activities in the closet. The little boy kept taking the loud item from Tiger until he decided to finally be quiet and go to sleep. Tiger evenly laid down, but the boy still couldn’t go to sleep because Tiger started snoring. The author used a lot of repetition throughout the story.

Rating: 5

Explanation: This book is the total opposite of the bedtime fear of something in a child's closet. Children should definitely read this book because it’s a friendly tiger in the closet making a lot of noise. So many noises that the little boy can’t sleep. It teaches children that the little boy wasn’t scared of the tiger and eventually took away everything the tiger was using to make noises. At the end, the boy still couldn’t go to sleep because the tiger jumped into the bed and started snoring.

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very cute story about a little boy who can’t sleep because there is a tiger in his closet making a terrible racket. I love how silly it, but I love most how the little boy does his best to give the tiger multiple chances and asks nicely nearly every time. It also can be used to teach a valuable lesson: instead of focusing on the behavior we don’t like (the tiger making noise) and working to stop it, we should seek out the root of the behavior (tiger was scared and lonely in the closed) and resolve that to get the results we seek (even though tiger ends up snoring in the bed!).

[Abby Peskin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute illustrations in this book of a boy who is trying to fall asleep and a tiger who is in his closet making so much noise that he’s keeping him awake. The boy tries to get him to be quiet and finally takes everything away from him. Turns out the tiger just needs someone to cuddle with so he can fall asleep.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely darling book about a tiger in a boy's closet who keeps the boy awake. Really fun ending, cute pics and lends itself well to sound effects, esp. using a mike. Kids can participate as the tiger by saying, "Oops! Tiger is sorry. Tiger will be quiet."

[Christine Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so much fun to read! I'm a teacher and the children ask for it a lot! It is great for teaching onomatopoeia. My first graders know what it means just because of this book. A fun story, great way to use different voices...Just an overall good book!!

[Olivia S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute take on the monster in my closet theme; this boy has a noisy tiger in his closet. Sweet story, I like the illustrations, I think this would be a fun book for story time, except that it's a bit long. Would work well for slightly older kids (5+ maybe?).

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our copy has that old book smell but instead of a good old book smell it has the throw up smelling one. I like the story tho and want to read it during bedtime storyhour but I will have to get thru the smell

[Flash · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazingly funny

[Joy Keil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Trying to avoid reading books that might make my little one develop a fear of something...so this one wasn't for us.

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorites! My son loved this book as a toddler!

[Jillian Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one always makes my students laugh! Perfect to pair with a nonfiction text about Tigers!

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was ok & fairly predictable. The art was only ok. So frustrating since I was looking forward to the book. :(

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This will be fun to share at Pajama Storytime. A very lively tiger lives in a boy's closet and all his fun antics keep the boy awake!

[Brady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book about a little boy who can't sleep, because a silly tiger is making so much noise in his closet.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little boy is trying to fall asleep, but a noisy tiger keeps making all sorts of different noises inside his closet. This would be fun to use in a storytime about sounds, or bedtime.

[Emma Pruett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book for read aloud.

[Chappyfamily · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a parent I can relate!

[Kaylee Klaassen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Modern Fantasy
Grade Range: PreK- 1st

This was a really cute book and I think that kids would get a kick out of it. I thought that it was funny that a kid was getting annoyed with loud noises, when usually it is the parents getting annoyed with the kid. I thought that the tiger was very funny and humorous with everything that he played with to make noise. It was comical that the kid had to take everything away from the tiger too! Great book overall!

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a huge hit with Henry! - age 3.5

[Di · Rating 5 out of 5]

The laughter echoes when read together.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

So fun! A little boy can't fall asleep because the tiger in his closet is making too much noise. Eventually, the two of them come to a solution but there are plenty of laughs along the way. Every little kid who has ever had trouble falling asleep will relate to this book - a great group read aloud!

[Ashley Fischer]

This illustrator seemed to use ink pen with water colors to fill in for color. The illustrator also used lines to direct your attention through the picture in a particular way. Horizontal lines moved the reader’s eyes sideways through the picture and the vertical lines helped moved the reader’s eyes up and down on the page. Another thing the illustrator used to portray a specific idea was value in the pictures. When the bedroom light was off the picture was darker and when the light was on the picture was brighter.

[Queen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just read this tonight to my girls. A picture book has to really get me to giggle for me to take note. Although there are many I meant to take note of, but my brain has too many holes these days.

Loved this concept. Little boy trying his darnedest to go to sleep - but the tiger in his closet is too busy eating chips, doing cartwheels, playing instruments...basically driving the kid nuts.

Love the perspective and loved the adorable dialogue.

[Kristy Schwertfeger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a little boy who is trying to go to sleep one night, when he realizes there is a tiger in his closet. This tiger is making an awful amount of noise. The tiger is not scary or mean, just noisy! The boy spends a lot of time trying to get the tiger to be quiet. But soon the little boy realizes why tiger is so noisy, he cant sleep because he is afraid. This is a very cute book and students will also find it funny.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little boy is ready for bed but can't sleep because there's a tiger in his closet eating chips! Then the tiger is bouncing a ball, doing cartwheels and playing band instruments. Finally the little boy has had enough and demands that the tiger stop making noise. But the tiger then tells him that he's afraid of the dark closet. So the boy invites him to bed with him and the ecstatic tiger leaps through the air.