Don't Think of Tigers

There’s a mind game in which a person is challenged not to think of something: tomatoes, the colour red…  Here Alex Latimer challenges the reader first of all by predicting what they might be thinking of – actually, by making a ridiculous suggestion that is he then follows up on the next page. After a test picture of a cow doing ballet, the author makes a plea: he cannot draw tigers, so please, dear readers, don’t think of tigers! This opens the rest of the book to Latimer’s claim at being rubbish at drawing tigers, and we now see goofy tigers with skinny legs, an eight-legged tiger, and so on. His choices are eccentric and comic. If a grown-up is reading this book, what would a grown-up imagine a tiger to be? The harassed tiger losing papers from a briefcase and drinking coffee is comedy gold, but also reminded me of Zoboli and Di Giorgio’s Professional Crocodile.

A 5 – 8 age-range is appropriate, and I can imagine a group of Nursery or Reception age children falling about at the choices the author/illustrator had made, but actually over-eights would also appreciate the bizarre choices of illustration, and the final, glorious tigers, too (yes, he gets better at depicting tigers…) – and as children develop and become over-critical of their own drawing skills, the artwork and message of the final page (‘making bad pictures is part of learning to make good ones’) would have a real impact, and could be a point of discussion for older children too.

Vibrant colours, a good pace in the text, quirky illustrations and an important message at the end make this book a real treasure. As the opening page says, ‘This book in your hands is MAGIC!’.