CCBC Booklists

CCBC Review:

It’s late summer on Mountain Pond as a boy and his family take their annual camping trip before the start of school. With the comfort and familiarity of kindergarten behind him, the boy is apprehensive about starting first grade. As they set up their campsite, the family is startled to see a tiger—thin, small, and stern. He requests an extra tent and stays with the family all weekend. The boy curls up with him in the tent, follows him along a trail, and rides alone in a canoe with him to look at the stars. The tiger vanishes just before vacation ends. Back home, the boy is doing things now that his mother used to do for him, like making his bed and folding his clothes. The boy, who appears to be biracial (Asian/white), draws the tiger from memory the night before school starts as a gift for his new teacher. Stunning illustrations accompany this imaginative story, a subtle metaphor for a time of growth and transition that invites discussion and provokes thought. ©2020 Cooperative Children’s Book Center

Illustrated by John Rocco

CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 4-8
Age Range: PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7) Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Format: Picture book
Subjects: Anxiety Asian Americans Change Families School
Diversity subject: Asian
On CCBC Booklists: School Stories: Selected PreK-12 Literature about the School Experience  Feeling Anxious: Selected Books about Managing Worry and Fear for Children 

Publishers: Penguin Random House, Putnam
Publish Year: 2019
Pages: 40
ISBN: 9780399173295
CCBC Location: Picture Book, Choi

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