Mr. Tiger Goes Wild

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild is a beautiful book for children, conveying a wonderful message. Peter Brown is an award winning author and for this book took home the Boston Globe Horn Award among many others. At first glance, on the cover, we see a tiger in a top hat and a tuxedo surrounded by plants and trees in the forest, which makes him seem a bit out of place. This sets the tone to start the book. Brown’s use of color throughout is very smart and he uses just the right amount of pop in Mr. Tiger to show his uniqueness. The bright orange of Mr. Tiger against the mono chromatic, brown and grey muted background of the city where he lives perfectly symbolizes Mr. Tiger’s wild side. The illustrations are so simple yet they tell so much of the story and the wordless pages are just as significant to this story as the pages with text.This book is perfect for young children because the text is minimal and keeps a good, steady pace. The word bubbles are also fun for kids to read and make it easier for younger children to follow the dialogue between Mr. Tiger and the others. The wordless pages also work well for children because it helps to fluidly convey Mr. Tiger’s transformation more visually throughout the story.Upon starting the book we see Mr. Tiger in his city with all the other people who live there. Everyone stands upright and is dressed up in suits or dresses and looks like they’re just about ready for Sunday tea. However when we first see Mr. Tiger, he already seems as though he doesn’t quite belong. Between his bright orange color and the underwhelmed expression on his face he looks a bit out of place. We see Mr. Tiger going through his day to day interactions and activities which all seem a bit hum drum, until he gets a very “wild idea”. First we see Mr. Tiger in a double page spread down on all four paws and his friends don’t seem to care much for this. Then Mr. Tiger gets loud ad wants to “ROAR”, this slightly frightens the others in the city. Mr. Tigers gets progressively more wild and active as the pages turn and his friends are not quite sure what to think of it. Until one day… Mr. Tiger “went a little too far”. We see Mr. Tiger jump into a fountain and swim across to the other side only to come out in nothing but his birthday suit!! This is sure to cause a giggle; we turn we turn to another double page spread of Mr. Tiger but this time with no suit or top hat. The look on his face is priceless with a huge goofy smile and a tiger the way nature intended! However, no one else seemed to share in his joy and it was then suggested that if he was going to act so wild that he should go live in the wild, which he though was a great idea. Then after we see him playing in the river and climbing trees in the forest he begins to get lonely and misses his friends and his home. When Mr. Tiger returns home he is pleasantly surprised to see that not only do his friends openly welcome him back, but things have begun to change and shift toward a happy medium. Things ended well for Mr. Tiger.I really enjoyed this book and could see it being a wonderful story for any child. Brown conveys a message that is important for everyone to know, which is that it is okay to be free and to be yourself. It’s good to be different even if it’s challenged sometimes. Now, I don’t know about taking all your clothes off and jumping into a fountain! However, it’s just funny and could easily be looked past. The overall message is simple, but it’s there and important for kids of all ages to understand.

My almost three year old grabbed this from the library and loved it so much that we had to buy it!

I have used this book for everything from baby showers to teaching 7th graders different genres in writing workshop. It works for everything! The illustrations are superb and the story line of Mr. Tiger is appealing to children (and adults) of all ages. I most recently purchased it in lieu of cards for a baby shower and while the subject matter is too old for a young baby, my hope is that it becomes that perfect book in her library to reach for one day pictures when the baby gets older and enters those more independent phases as she grows up.

I had heard so much buzz about Mr. Tiger Goes Wild that I had to find out what all the excitement was about. Now that I've read the book and seen the artwork, I completely understand the buzz, the excitement and the Caldecott-worthy talk.My little boy, who is almost five, is wild about Mr. Tiger. I, who am a good deal older than five, am also wild about Mr. Tiger. First of all, there is a story. A straight-forward, progressive, easy-to-follow story. And there is a twist, as there is in all good stories. And a most satisfying conclusion. And even, not so much a moral, but advice at the end. The text is well-chosen to define the characters and to propel the story forward.The artwork is magnificent. My son, who can only read a few words on his own, including the "ROAR", could still tell me the story from the illustrations. The grey, contained city looks nothing like the lush, green wilderness. At least at first. By the end of the story, everyone is happy and that shows very clearly in the final illustrations.My little boy read this book from cover to cover, including the end-papers and the jacket flap. He thinks Peter Brown is Mr. Tiger in disguise.

"AGAIN". That's what our two year old said the first time after we read him "Mr. Tiger Goes Wild". The large format of the book, the striking images that tell the whole story along with the text was a story he could relate to in many ways, it held the attention of a two year old through many repetitions and that's a great complement for any children's book. The images of all the animals delighted him, but he understood the story emotionally as well. I would not ask that this book be a "lesson" in when it is appropriate to be "wild" or not... the strength of the book is in it's imaginative, fun, vivid images and the ease of connecting emotionally to the story even if a two year old doesn't understand all the words of the text, or the "message" of balance that is struck at the end. The images of the Tiger, throwing off his clothes, jumping into the fountain, and then "going wild" before finding himself alone in the forest (and then returning to the city, but with a different attitude) had the perfect balance of playfulness and style. This is a book that's going to be read over and over again.

This is such a great book. Our 2 yr old granddaughter is a character like Mr Tiger. She loves this book when she goes to the library and now she has it for keeps.

Oh how we love this book in our house -- a sumptuous artistic style (I'd put prints of the pages on the wall) combined with a clear and simple text, some built-in roaring opportunities for preschool listeners, and a surprisingly subtle message on the fine balance to be struck between conformity and self-expression (or, when is it appropriate to chuck your socially mandated tuxedo and roar your head off starkers on a park bench?). A hit with the whole family.

I really LOVE this book. The illustrations are great, and the story goes to the heart of the pre-school dilemma - what to do when you don't behave the way everyone else thinks you should. I know SO MANY under 5s who can relate to this book - hooray for Mr Tiger - I'd like a bit more wildness myself.

Love this story, don't think my son understands it, great drawings, a must in an open minded household

Illustrations are better than the story in my opinion but my two year olds like it.

Book is better than the kindle version