The Tiger Rising
Grieving tweens try to free tiger in bleak Southern tale.
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that The Tiger Rising, first published in 2001 and adapted for a feature-length film releasing Jan. 21, 2022, was Kate DiCamillo's first book after Because of Winn-Dixie. But if you're expecting a similar, classic, feel-good DiCamillo tale of relatable, determined tweens coping with life's wrongs with the help of quirky friends, family, and endearing animals, this is not it. It's much darker. Multiple animals are killed; one family is torn apart by the mom's death from cancer; another by the father's running off with his secretary, abandoning his wife and daughter; the owner of a scuzzy Florida motel is holding a tiger captive and can't decide whether or not to kill him. Guns appear throughout and sometimes kill. The kids are appealing and relatable in their quest, but a lot of foreshadowed doom overhangs the effort, and the eventual emotional breakthroughs and glimmers of light often seem paltry and inadequate measured against the suffering and death it took to get them.
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Sad, scary, provoking all the wrong discussion
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What's the Story?
THE TIGER RISING finds sixth-grader Rob discovering an actual tiger in a cage in the woods near the motel in middle-of-nowhere Florida, where he and his depressed father have lived since his beloved mom died six months earlier. Quiet, artistic, and plagued with a skin rash, he's trying to figure out what the tiger's story is and what he should do, all while enduring another day of bullying. Then the school bus picks up a girl in a party dress, Sistine, who's new in town but insisting that her dad -- who, it seems, has run off with his secretary and won't be back any time soon -- will be taking her back to Philadelphia any time now. The bereaved, bullied boy and the furious, snarky girl bond -- and soon start debating whether they should free the tiger.
Is It Any Good?
Death, betrayal, grief, defeat, and ill-advised choices vie with life-changing friendship and moments of beauty in Kate DiCamillo's tale of a captive tiger and tweens who want to free him. A good deal darker than the author's previous book, Because of Winn-Dixie, The Tiger Rising features complex, troubled characters such as protagonist Rob's dad, who cares tenderly for his son's medical issues but kills a bird just because he can, over his wife's protests and his boy's tears.
"'You think I can hit it?' his father said. 'You think I can hit that itty-bitty bird?'
"'Robert,' his mother said, 'what do you want to shoot that bird for?'
"'To prove I can,' said his father.
"There was a single crack and the bird was suspended in midair, pinned for a moment to the sky with his father's bullet. Then it fell.
"'Oh, Robert,' his mother said....
"Rob thought about the bird and how when he had finally found its small still warm body, he had started to cry.
"His father told him not to.
"'It ain't nothing to cry over,' he said. 'It's just a bird.'"
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Kate DiCamillo's books. Do you have any favorites? How do you like The Tiger Rising compared with others you've read?
Rob is a skilled sculptor, like his late mother. Is there some kind of art or other maker activity you're drawn to? What do you like about it?
Have you ever had to move to a whole new place after some big change in your family? What happened? How did you cope?
Book Details
- Author: Kate DiCamillo
- Genre: Coming of Age
- Topics: Friendship, Middle School, Wild Animals
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Candlewick Press
- Publication date: March 1, 2001
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 10 - 12
- Number of pages: 144
- Available on: Paperback, Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: June 21, 2022
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