Echoing the plaint of many an older sibling, a young versifier—cast as a member of an affectionate family of tiger-striped cats in often rumpled human dress—wonders, “Where did that baby come from? / And can we take it back?” The first query sparks an extended riff: Did the child fall from the sky? Sprout from a seed? Come from a kit? (“All it can do is pee and poo / Is there a missing bit?”) A zoo? A grocery store? Outer space? Depicting each alternative in cozily jumbled, hilarious close-ups, Gliori has the kitten floating amid wind-swept leaves, for instance, budding with irresistible cuteness on a vine, or sitting on a shelf next to a sign offering “free-range babies.” After smiles give way to tears and then, with a bit of cuddling, smiles again, harmony reigns: “I think our baby comes from the place I come from, too. / Our place of birth was planet Earth—this baby, me . . . and you.” Animated by themes of love and acceptance, this makes a perfect lead-in to Robie Harris’s more specific answer in Happy Birth Day (1996). (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-15-205373-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2005
A young tiger catches a glimpse of the wider world in this bland import. Fired up by his mother’s tales of distant white mountains, Tiger Baby ignores her orders to stay under cover and bounds off with a friendly kingfisher. After being chased by a leopard, tumbling into a lake, and making additional friends, Tiger Baby spies the mountains at last from a hilltop—and also sees his mother, not far off. The telling is stiff and flat, but interestingly, in an atypical departure, mother tiger doesn’t scold or say “I told you so” when Tiger Baby reports his adventure. Depicting the woodland setting in pale greens and grays, Bohdal gives Tiger Baby big, cute paws and a range of mild human expressions, so that even with the leopard, the tale stays low-key, never developing much suspense or sense of danger. Some younger readers may be comfortable with this; for those who prefer more than a dash of excitement in their leaving-the-nest tales, share Libba Moore Gray’s Small Green Snake (1994), or Frank and Devin Asch’s Baby Duck’s New Friend (p. 326). (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: May 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7358-1432-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2001
Some little tiger cubs grow up with their mothers, but this one born in Six Flags Marine World, a wild animal park in California, is raised entirely by human keepers. Lots of pictures show the infant tiger drinking from a bottle, taking a first bath, smooching and cuddling with her human keepers, walking on a leash, and joining the adult tigers in the exhibit. Easy-reading text offers somewhat stilted explanations of what the color photos show. “It is time for a checkup. The bright lights are scary. The tiger cub roars.” The author notes, “Tigers can be trained to do what people want them to do. But tigers cannot be tamed.” In an afterword, she states: “Many zoos and wild animal parks breed captive Bengal tigers. One day, some of these tigers may be returned to the wild.” Animal theme parks use this line to justify breeding and keeping endangered animals as exhibits, but conservationists may be saddened by this effort to turn wild animals into cute displays. (Nonfiction. 4-6)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-57505-163-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Carolrhoda
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2001
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