Tiger on a Tree

by Anushka Ravishankar, Pulak Biswas (Illustrator)

Tiger, tiger on a tree Is it true? Can it be? Did he fly? Did he flee? Did he fall and hurt his knee? Did he cry? Did he plead? If you want to know, Read. An award-winning combination of black, orange and whimsical poetry, this is the tale of a wild tiger cub that wanders into an Indian village. The art, verse and typography run and bounce off the page, drawing both the curious child and the quizzical adult into the book's ever-surprising world.

Genres: Picture Books, India, Animals, Childrens, Fiction, Storytime, International

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Anushka Ravishankar, a mathematics graduate, has made a name for herself internationally as an Indian children’s writer, with over 10 books of verse, fiction and non-fiction. Her special talent is in the area of nonsense verse, where she brilliantly adapts this difficult genre to Indian English usage, without a false note. Anushka Ravishankar can be said to have pioneered the Indian English nonsense verse form and brought it to international attention. She recently returned from a UK tour with Children’s Laureate, Michael Rosen, at the Children’s Bookshow.

from http://www.tarabooks.com/about/authors/

Reviews

[Smitha Murthy]

Yesterday, after a long time, I went to a bookstore. No, I went to two bookstores. How do I write what I felt? I have spent much of these last few months without my beloved bookshelves, staying as I have been away from my apartment. The few books I have here are stashed in the bottom of the wardrobe. Like disgraceful relics.

Imagine me then when I walk into Bangalore’s most-loved bookstores.

There must be a word for this feeling then - that feeling when you walk into a place surrounded by books. All the words, waiting to caress you. The musty smell of an old story. The heart of a timeless tale. I know of only one way to describe it - I felt loved. Again. And I didn’t want to leave.

So it was that I sat on a stool in the bookshop and read ‘Tiger On A Tree.’ A simple children’s picture book. But this review is not about the book. This is a review of the love for book-reading itself. Like Elizabeth Barett Browning wrote, “How do I love thee?” I could only love this way.

[James Son]

"Tiger on a Tree" follows the life of a tiger. It starts off with showing a tiger who is on shore, and seems like he is in little bit of a rush. As he is running off somewhere, he needs to pass some obstacles. The first one is the ocean. The desperate tiger has to be bold enough to go across. Then as he keeps on running, he passes a deer. The deer, who becomes frightened, also flees. While the tiger runs, he finds a tree. Without any hesitation, he climbs it! At this point of the story, nobody knows why the tiger has to keep on running, until a man with a net shows up. He yells out that the tiger is on the tree, and then a group of other people show up. They all grab onto the net and traps the tiger. The poor and desperate tiger does not know what to do. Will he get caught? If so, what will become of him? You can feel the tiger's emotions.

This book represents the story in a very particular way. It doesn't start off with giving any explanation, and just starts off with showing a running tiger. Nobody knows why its running, but the readers can definitely tell the tiger is in a hurry. I thought that was a really smart way to grab the attentions of the readers, and keep them curious throughout the story. Also the way the author used rhyming in the text, I thought, made the story a lot more entertaining. Finally, I really enjoyed the ending. After the people finally caught the tiger, they did not know what to do with it. So instead of doing anything cruel, one by one they each voted to release it. The way the story ended how it started, except this time clearly showing the tiger being happy, was very creative indeed. I did not favor the illustrations however. I had to go back a couple times to find out what the pictures were trying to show me. This story does not have that many words to it, so the pictures are very vital for the readers to really understand what is going on. I did not like the color usage also. I thought it was too bland, as it only showed the colors of orange, black, and white. Some people might like this kind of drawing and coloring, but for me personally, I like my children's book to be very colorful, as I think it would make the readers enjoy it a little more too.

[Karen]

Simple rhyming book set in India - like Seuss in that it has an easy cadence and is a bit nonsensical.

[Ahona Das]

Short, delightful read in the form of a graphic poem. Reminds me of Khaled Hosseini's "Sea Prayer" and the emergence of the genre of the illustrated poem.

[Claire]

I love, love, love these illustrations! Who says you need more than three colors to tell a story? Pulak Biswas' orange, black, and white color scheme with bold brushwork makes Anushka Ravishankar’s silly, adventurous text come alive. I appreciated the large font – most pages only have one sentence or even one word – surrounded by white, which is great for promoting print awareness in emerging readers. A fun choice to share with kids in the 2-6 age range. The end of the story is very clever - I like how it comes full circle and loops around to the beginning!

[Stacie]

Beautiful woodcut-type illustrations elevate the somewhat clunky rhyme scheme to tell a story of a tiger 🐅 who gets a lucky break.

[Sarah Sammis]

Tiger on a Tree by Anushka Ravishankar has won a number of awards but we didn't know any of that when we checked it out from the library. We got it because it has brightly colored illustrations and features a tiger. My Caligula the cat fanatic had to read it.

The story follows the misadventures of a young tiger as he swims across a river and wanders into a rural Indian village. The villagers react with shock and with all their screaming manage to scare the tiger up a tree. Now they have to decide what do with him.

Around here we don't have many tiger stories (except for the unfortunate tiger mauling at the San Francisco Zoo). Instead, we have bears, coyotes and mountain lions. The bears and mountain lions do end up in trees in backyards, city parks and other urban areas from time to time. Each and every animal up a tree situation has its own challenges. Like the villagers in Tiger on a Tree we have to decide what is best for both the people and the animal. Best case scenario is the animal gets tranquilized and moved to a safer location.

Harriet and I enjoyed the book for the silly rhymes and cute illustrations. Sean said he liked the book because the villagers did the right thing.

[Bobby]

A book for younger children (probably only about 100 words or so) in the vein of Dr. Seuss...certainly because the words rhyme, but more importantly, because it's destined to be a classic (or at least it should be in my opinion). It's a brief story of a tiger and what happens to him when he's discovered in a tree by human beings. Needless to say, there isn't much of plot, even by children's book standards, given it's short length. But it does send a message that the animal rights advocates especially will appreciate. I loved the illustrations too; very stylized (both the author and the illustrator are Indian and apparently quite well known in India). Definitely one of those books I can't wait to pass on to my little niece, or at least read it with her (too good for me to let her destroy it!). I bought it now because I'm afraid it'll go out of print.

[Moushumi Ghosh]

The story comes alive in the interaction of text and image. I love the rhyme. It was soothing and I am not even in the intended target audience bracket! I was reminded of Blake's Tyger even as I was reading this. Pulak Biswas's illustrations have an Indianness that I am discovering for the first time in picture books. The style of the drawings are what I have seen growing up in Bengali children's magazines. His illustrations remind me of Ray's as well. There is an element of abstractness that I cannot ignore which makes the illustrations quite international as well.

[Annette]

I was immediately struck visually by this book,whose fluid back and white drawings with orange seem simple but are vivid and expressive. I liked the rhyming, almost sing-song rhythm of the text and the element of surprise and humor in the absurdity of some parts, for example,when they are trying to decide what to do with the tiger once they caught him: "Send him to the zoo? Stick him up with glue? Paint him blue?" The circular ending invites repetition and further invention from students.

[Sara Bland]

There is really not a lot to say about this book other than it is about a tiger and how his day went. The plot is not very strong, but then again this is a book designed for children in pre-k though 2nd grade. Depending on how this book is used (read aloud or read alone) this could definitely span the ages of a bigger grade level gap. The illustrations were pretty basic with a nice orange, black, and white color scheme. This book features very simple sentences for the new reader.

[Natalie Pietro]

Tiger on a Tree by Anushka Ravishankar is quite delightful. The feel of this Indian book was Seuss like. The rhyming words worked well in a fun way for beginner readers to enjoy reading. The black and orange color gave the book a 70's feeling. Must add my little guy loved Tiger on a Tree. Sat memorized the whole book. I believe we will be reading this book again, and again, and again...

[Sandy Brehl]

Simple text with irregular but appealing rhyme present a dilemma: what do you do with a tiger once you catch it? The bold lines, white background, and minimal color encourage imagination, drama, and tension.

[Sally]

I enjoyed this book. It's not a typical picture book and the illustrations would not appeal to all children. But the text is interesting and laid out in an atypical format.

[Robin]

What should the men do with the tiger caught in a tree? Set him free, they all agree.
Short rhyming text and striking illustrations in black, white and orange (appropriately for a tiger!)

[Dhruv Singhal]

i really liked the story very much.it contains all d necessary entertainment required to get interest in d book.

[Leslie]

Graphically appealing illustrations composed of white, inky black, and orange. Visually great for a baby. Story is lacking.

4 star illustrations; 2 star story.

[Maya]

So simple and graphic, both my kids love this one.

[Megan]

What a bold, captivating story. Simple text with strong rhyming patterns fun for emergent readers or else sharing with young children.

[Kelly]

First published in 1997 by Tara Publishing in Chennai, India. First American edition by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 2004.

[Elizabeth]

The rhyming text can carry a read-aloud along, but I wasn't all that into the art style and found the narrative somewhat disjointed.

[Tricia]

tiger is captured and men of village ponder what to do with him. no pc for modern times.

[Rian]

pairs well with "Sheep on a Jeep"

[Debra]

K - 2

Evokes emotion

Phonics - Rhyming Words