Read Out Loud! Read to Tiger by S. J. Fore

I SAT DOWN ON THE COUCH AND OPENED MY BOOK. IT'S TIME TO READ.

BUT I CAN'T READ.

THERE'S A TIGER BEHIND MY COUCH. CHOMP, CHOMP, CHOMPING HIS BUBBLE GUM.

"HUH-UH, TIGER."

"OOOPS!" THE TIGER SAYS. "TIGER IS SORRY. TIGER WON'T CHOMP!"

The boy settles down happily to enjoy his book, but Tiger has a different agenda. "HI-YAA!" he yells, as he karate kicks around the sofa. "GRRRRRR!" he growls, as he pretends to be a bear in the boy's own costume. "CHOO-CHOOOOO! TOOOOOOT!" goes Tiger's noisy red train as it circles the couch. With each interruption, the boy admonishes his buddy, and Tiger apologizes profusely. " Tiger sorry!" But then....

CREAK CRACK! CREAK CRACK! CREAK CRACK! "AHHHHHHH!"

MY COUCH IS FLYING UP IN THE AIR BECAUSE THERE'S A TIGER UNDER IT.

TIIIIIGER! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? I AM TRYING TO READ!!!"

By this time, even the youngest listener knows what is going on here. Tiger obviously feels left out of the silent reading process and his attention-seeking behavior is his way of letting the boy know it. But when Tiger actually looks at the book and sees that it's about a tiger just like him, he cuddles up and waits expectantly for the boy to get the message of his body language. And the boy does....

FINALLY I CAN READ MY BOOK...TO TIGER.

As in his earlier book Tiger Can't Sleep, S. J. Fore's Read to Tiger (Viking, 2010) uses the comic style of illustrator R. W. Alley (slightly reminiscent of the the pair of friends in Calvin and Hobbes) to depict the relationship of boy and tiger, in which the boy plays the adult role to a rambunctious tiger who plays the impulsive preschooler with elan. Kids will appreciate the humor of the role reversal and chuckle along with this delightful sequel.

Tiger (Glad) Rags: Tiger in a Pink Hat by Nicola Stott McCourt

One Day Tiger went shopping.
He bought a pink hat.
Imagine that! A pink hat!
Whoever heard of of a tiger in a pink hat?

If Dora the Explorer can wear hot pink with orange, why NOT a tiger?

But Tiger doesn't just stop with a pink chapeau! He adds an umbrella with stripes, (YIPES!), green gloves (HEAVENS ABOVE!) and drenches himself in smelly perfume before taking off on his newly purchased roller skates. But roller blades apparently don't make the grade, so Tiger trades them for a new set of wheels, a little red car, (HOW BIZARRE!) and decked out in a store-bought shaggy coat and a big diamond ring (IT HAD SOME BLING!), puts his gear in, well, gear, and zooms off in his car.

But even conspicuous consumption has its downside, and when his car gets stuck in the snow, Tiger has a change of heart, shucks all his stuff, and heads off for the nice warm jungle.

Author Nicola Stott McCourt and illustrator Leah-Ellen Heming tuck a nice little color lesson into their anti-acquisition cumulative cautionary tale (with apologies to the old lady who swallowed this and that) of a tiger who leaves it all behind for the simple life in Tiger In A Pink Hat (Worthwhile, 2009). Bright colors, a tiger as tantalizing as Tigger, and rousing rhyming verse make this one just right for toddler story time.