The Tiniest Tiger by Joanne McGonagle

The Tiniest Tiger by Joanne L. McGonagle offers every thing I like in a children’s book. It is quite readable, it is a great read along book, it gives the child lots of facts in a way that is palatable and the art work is “doable” and a joy to the eye. I enjoyed every page of this one.

The story, which is quite well written, is of a small, stray kitten that becomes lost and cannot find her litter mates. This happens while she is chasing butterflies, an obsession with kittens, I have noted. Our little cat happens to find herself at the local zoo and sees a sign stating she is at the “Big Cat Section.” This is where the story actually begins. Our little lost kitten goes from big cat to big cat asking if she could join them as she has lost her way home and really has no where to stay. The author has used this as a vehicle to introduce us to endangered species of cats from around the world. Our little kitten visits the Tiger, Lion, Cheetah, Clouded Leopard, Puma, Jaguar, Bobcat and Ocelot. While all the big cats are friendly, they all reject her for one reason or another. Now for those of you who read my reviews, you know I am not into injecting “spoilers” into my little write-ups, so I won’t here, but trust me; it all ends quite well for the little lost kitten.

There was much to like in this work and, as far as I am concerned, nothing to dislike. The author uses a straight forward s syntax that is easy to read and goes perfectly with the art work. Joanne McGonagle has provided information about each species cat visited, and has accomplished this in a way that leaves room for discussion with the children, while still giving them quite a lot of information right from the text. I did appreciate the fact that the author has introduced words that the average second, third or fourth grader may not be familiar with, ergo; we do not get the same old thing that the children have encountered in many previous books. This gives the individual reading the book with the child a good opportunity to discuss “words,” which, for me, is one of the most important parts of the learning process. If the child is not challenged, the child loses, and trust me, becomes bored rather quickly. The story flows quite well, is logical and Ms. McGonagle, who must have a great sense of humor, has been able to slip some pretty cute stuff in here and there. I like that.

I loved the art work in this little book. Having read to literally hundreds of children, I have found that so often they are simply turned off by art that is too “photographic.” By that, I mean, the child should be able to look at a picture, and in the back of their minds say “hey, I might be able to do that some day.” I like the natural colors the author has used and the way the colors have been blended. When you are actually out in the bush, everything is blended, it flows, and nothing is sharp. That is the way nature is. And the paintings in this work give us a feeling of actually being with the cats, in their natural surroundings, even if it is in a zoo. When I take kids on nature hikes, one of the things I stress is “LOOK.” Works such as this get their little eyes and minds use to such things.

While this is a nice little story that is bound to appeal to children, it also addresses a most serious subject. Each year our big cat population in this world goes down and down. If we do not do something, and do it soon, we are going to simply be without these magnificent creatures. This, for me, is a horrible thought. We simply cannot start our children out young enough learning the seriousness of the situation. Works such as we have here, go along way in starting the process of making our children and grandchildren aware.

This is certainly a book that needs to the in the local and school library and in addition to that, should be made available in the gift shop of your local zoo. I highly recommend this one!

Considerations:::
No Accelerated Reading designation could be found for this book.