Tigress

Helen Cowcher has produced another winner with this disturbing book. Brilliant artwork and tight spare text challenge the reader to face the question of rivalling demands of man and beast. We're skilfully played along, shown the tigress's need to feed her cubs but shown too the terror on the face of the herdsman as he realises the scale of his loss. We share the panic of the other herdsman he tells, we feel fear as we hear their suggestion that they should leave poisoned meat for the tigress to share with her cubs. The solution is dramatic, acceptable, but we're left feeling that it's only tenuous.