It's an eery coincidence to read this right after [b:This Was Our Pact|40864829|This Was Our Pact|Ryan Andrews|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1536917259l/40864829._SX50_.jpg|65285306] because the two books are unexpectedly similar. Both are about boys having an adventure with a talking animal. They both have a surreal quality. The pinnacle of both stories is a spread of the night sky which seems especially magical in that moment.

I'm interested to see how 4- to 7-year-olds will react to this story. Will they have ideas about what the tiger represents? Will they think the boy was just imagining the tiger? This is a great one to start a discussion. I imagine some kids will be nonplussed and some will dive into interpretations.

Overall, the illustrations are impressive but uneven. Some of the spreads are gorgeous, particularly the one where the boy and the tiger are cuddling in the tent. ( )

Picture book of an end of summer camping trip where the 5 year old younger brother keeps company with a tiger, a small for a tiger tiger, mind, until the morning of the family's departure. Is the boy saying good-bye to some wild part of himself or did something extraordinary happen? The illustrations were competent by not quite beguiling. ( )

LOVE the illustrations. The story not so much. ( )

growing up ( )