A Tiger Grows Up

October 15, 2005
K-Gr. 2. There are many series about animals' life cycles, but this book in the Wild Animals series is particularly nice. Oversize, with minimal yet informative text and dramatic paintings, the book follows a Bengal tiger mother in India and her three cubs. A striking two-page spread features the mother tiger and cubs facing the audience. The following pages picture the cubs eating and sleeping while their mother hunts for food; learning to prowl and find food on their own; and starting on their own cycle of life. Small text boxes, attractively bordered in the same stripes that decorate the end papers, bolster the text, providing such tidbits as "Young cubs eat and sleep most of the day. They sleep under the trees or in their den." A labeled diagram of a tiger's body and a map are appended. Also available are books on elephants, lions, and rhinoceroses.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)