The Tiger Rising
by Kate DiCamillo
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Book Reviews of The Tiger Rising
Book Review: Another Great DiCamillo Classic
Summary: 5 Stars
The Tiger Rising was another great book by Kate DiCamillo. I picked this one up after reading The Tale of Despereaux and falling in love with that one. I've become a huge fan of her after reading these two books and can't wait to get my hands on a copy of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.
The Tiger Rising centers around a young boy by the name of Rob who keeps his emotions wrapped up inside. His mother has died recently and he and his father have moved from Kentucky to Florida so that his father could escape the heartbreak of losing her. They now live in the Kentucky Star Motel. His father has instilled in Rob that he should not show tears over his mother's death and that he should be strong, so Rob packs all of his emotions away "into a suitcase." He does this in all aspects of his life. He's picked on at school and instead of getting upset, he ignores it. Instead of voicing his dislike of anything, he pretends to not be bothered by it.
There's a new girl in town by the name of Sistine and she has the opposite problem of Henry. She has too much anger and displays it outwardly to everyone and comes off as quite arrogant. In a twist of events, Rob and Sistine become friends.
Rob has made a discovery that there is a tiger being kept in a cage in the woods behind the motel that he and his father are living in and shares this secret with Sistine. Thoughts and emotions are shared between the friends and a wise maid by the name of Willie May who works for the motel.
The Tiger Rising, like Despereaux, faces issues head on. Kate DiCamillo is not afraid to work with strong emotions and when she does address them, she does so beautifully. This book is written wonderfully and can be enjoyed by anyone. I can see it being especially meaningful to a child who has gone through loss of any kind at a young age.
Book Review: Teaches how to deal with sadness and anger
Summary: 4 Stars
This is the third DiCamillo book I have read. I really enjoyed both "The Magician's Elephant" and "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane". I liked this book too, although not as much as the others of hers that I have read.
Rob Horton's mom died and then his dad decided they should move to Florida, where they currently reside in the Kentucky Derby Star Motel. Rob has a perpetual rash on his legs, and is constantly being beat up by the boys at school. His gloomy life changes when two things happen; first he finds a tiger caged in the woods and second he meets a girl called Sistine.
This is more of a novella than an actual full-length novel. It is not as magical or atmospheric as the other two DiCamillo novels I have read. DiCamillo does do a good job capturing how it feels for a young boy to be sad and alone.
The majority of this book deals with children trying to cope with strong emotions. Rob is perpetually sad because of his mom's death and his dad won't let Rob talk about it. Sistine is perpetually angry at the world because of her dad cheating on her mom. Somehow Rob and Sistine strike an odd friendship that focuses around this tiger they find in the woods.
The tiger is more of a symbol than anything in the story. In the end Rob and Sistine both find ways to cope with their emotions through events that happen with the tiger. The book is more of a fable from this aspect.
I love DiCamillo's writing style. This book does a very good job of showing children the right and wrong way to cope with sadness and anger. It would be a good story for younger children. Not my favorite of DiCamillo's though. I would definitely check out one of her other novels if you are a first time DiCamillo reader.
Book Review: Coping With Loss of Parent
Summary: 2 Stars
Rob recently lost his mother, but he doesn't want to talk about it. His father has made clear that crying is not okay and that remembering won't bring his mother back. Instead, the two of them move far away to help manage a hotel. Rob is miserable at school where kids pick on him, and he has developed a horrible itchy rash on his legs that he can't seem to get rid of. But still he keeps all of his feelings locked up, living in sorrow with his equally quiet father.
Then a girl named Sistine moves to town and starts to be Rob's friend. She lives only with her mother; her father had an affair and is now with another woman. Sistine is furious, and takes out her anger on her mother and on anyone else who gets in her way. She is good for Rob, forcing him to talk a little bit about his mother.
Rob and Sistine know something that leads them to an important decision they have to make. The owner of the hotel has a tiger in a cage in the woods nearby. He hasn't decided what he is going to do with it, but Rob and Sistine don't think it's right to keep the wild animal caged. Rob has been given the keys and the job of feeding the tiger. Sistine thinks he should let the tiger go free. Would that make the animal's life any better, though?
I really liked the interactions between Rob and Sistine. I liked Rob's artistry and how it was expressed through his carving. I didn't like the ending of the story; it seemed like nothing was resolved and everyone was still unhappy. I also had a real problem with Rob's father and the way he made his son's life more difficult by not letting him deal with his grief.
Book Review: Cat Club Review: www.freewebs.com/hlgstrider
Summary: 4 Stars
I think I like The Tiger Rising better in retrospect than I did when I read it. It's a lot like looking back on how your parents raised you and realizing that all the go to bed, eat your vegetables, and occasional spankings weren't random acts of cruelty but rather a part of a plan implemented out of love. Likewise it took me awhile to recover from the cold shock of Kate DiCamillo's ending to appreciate all she had done in this book.
The Tiger Rising is the story of two children: shy, sad Rob who has recently lost his mother, and stubborn, sharp Sistine whose father ran off with another woman abandoning her in a small, southern town she hates. Both hate school and long for friendship . . . enter the tiger.
A tiger does not belong in a rusty, iron cage behind a southern hotel, but that is where he is, and the wonder of this creature captures the children. What is there to do but allow the tiger to escape?
The writing is truly amazing. As Rob puts it (about Sistine, but it applies to Ms. DiCamillo):
"Her words sounded the way all those things made him feel, as if the world, the real world, had been punched through, so that he could see something wonderful and dazzling on the other side of it."
Also, I always hesitate before calling someone a Christian author. It's as if I think the moment I do a P.R. Agent will write me and inform me that actually she is a Shiite Muslim, so I won't call Kate DiCamillo a Christian author. I will say, however, that she is an author Christians can rest comfortably in and have no fear.
She is a great writer.
Book Review: Why does Ms. Camillo write for children?
Summary: 4 Stars
I ask the question because she is such an exquisitely poignant author that seems fascinated with dark overtones. (Can you believe what they did to Despereaux in the movies??).. My outgoing, happy-go-hey-hey 9 year old son, who is a 'sensitive' reader, spotted the undertones of Tiger Rising and her previous novels - "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" and "Despereaux" - and told me he didn't want to read THOSE books - he wanted funny books - like Paul Jennings' wickedly funny stories from Down Under. So I did what I usually do - I read to my son subjects and authors that challenge his sensitive side or that [I hope] will expand the breadth of his interests, subject matter and vocabulary. I almost gave up on Tiger Rising several times because of his age (well, the school wants me to give him 7th grade level books but the child's in 3rd grade so subject matter appropriateness is a constant juggling act). Anyway, the setting is so dreary and the child's situation so utterly abject and bereft emotionally that it was hard to read this except for the beauty of the relationships between friends, strangers and single parents that have nothing going for them except the love of their child. The father and the motel maid are interesting characters more than the caricutured bad guys.
But as always with Ms. Di Camillo, her novels leave us too soon wanting for more from this amazing author.