Mr Tiger Goes Wild

Are you bored with being proper? Do you find yourself dreaming of going wild? If the answer is yes (and frankly, how could it not be?) then Mr Tiger Goes Wild is the book for you!

Buttoned up in his morning suit, sipping tea from tiny cups with his equally strait-laced friends, Mr. Tiger gazes out glumly at the reader. A vivid splash of orange in a world depicted entirely in muted browns and greys, it’s obvious he doesn’t fit in.  But then he has a wild idea – brilliantly depicted across a double page spread – he drops to all fours. He feels better immediately, levels of happiness increasing as he gets wilder and wilder. His friends don’t know what to think and when Mr Tiger goes too far, shedding all of his clothes (the trappings of civilisation), they send him to the wilderness. At first, in scenes that bring Rousseau’s jungle to mind, Mr Tiger  revels in his new state. Throughout the book, Peter Brown skilfully uses visual clues to reveal Mr. Tiger’s feelings, and a wordless spread gives the first hint that there’s still something missing from his life. He returns home but finds that things there have changed. Mr. Tiger, in a new flowery shirt, is now free to be himself, but so is everyone else too.

This clever and stylish book celebrates individuality and self-expression deftly and with immense amounts of humour.  Children will love it, and find more to look at and talk about with each reading. Hooray for Mr Tiger!