THE BOY WHO PLAYED TIGER

by Patricia Wallace & Maryjane Dunstan Garlan ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 6, 1968

The boy who played tiger is almost the boy who cried wolf: Ko Shway, first met playacting a fantasy about bringing the Buddha to upper Burma, frightens his new teacher by exposing his papier-mache tiger head in the undergrowth. Teacher Daw Ma Ma rechannels his mischievous energies into carving a puppet for the village's first show, although chief villager U Gyi, the prankster's usual fallguy, still harbors doubts about the boy's good will. On the day of the puppet show Ko Shway really does see the tiger but he must convince the dubious adults; Daw Ma Ma accepts his story because she knows how much he wants the show to go on but U Gyi has to see for himself before he'll drive the tiger back into the jungle. Details of Burmese life permeate every scene, which prevents this from becoming a one-man show, and Ko Shway exercises a youthful swagger. Youthful appearance, relatively difficult local vocabulary.

Pub Date: May 6, 1968

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1968

Categories: FICTION