Never Tickle a Tiger

Izzy is an inveterate fidget; she’s at it be she in school or at home and no matter how hard she tries, her shuffles, jiggles, squirms, twitches, wriggles and fiddles drive her family and teacher crazy.

One day Izzy and her classmates visit the zoo and unsurprisingly, Izzy’s fidgets begin the minute she’s through the gates. In next to no time, despite her teacher’s warnings, Izzy has stroked the snakes, excited the elephants, bothered the bears, messed with the monkeys and poked the peacock. ‘… never tickle a tiger!’ cautions Miss Potterhurst. Lunchtime comes and goes and before her friends have finished munching, Izzy is up and away, large feather clutched firmly between thumb and forefinger and heading towards – you’ve guessed it – the tiger enclosure. So does the young miss pay heed to her teacher’s warning? Oh dear no, she does not and with a flick of that feather, she has started a disastrous chain reaction that ends up with rhino ramming hippo right into the penguins’ pool with a resounding SPLLAAAASH! And there is only one person who can calm the ensuing pandemonium and she does – for the time being anyway.

This action-packed story is sure to hold the attention of young audiences and I’m sure the adult readers aloud will be equally tickled by Izzy’s antics and the chaos they cause. I suspect there isn’t a primary school teacher in the land who doesn’t have at least one Izzy in his/her class.

Marc Boutavant’s illustrations abound with playful humuor and exuberance. There is plenty to smile at on every page and the scene of the animals watching Izzy’s classmates (and that bit-part hedgehog) in action is enormous fun.