The Orphaned Tiger

by Holly Webb, Simon Mendez (Illustrator), Artful Doodlers (Illustrator)

Anna finds a tiny wooden tiger ornament at her grandmother's house and just knows it's special. That night, she is magically transported to a village in Russia, where a tiger cub has been spotted in the village. Is Anna brave enough to venture out alone to help the little cub?

In this magical time-travel adventure, Anna finds a small wooden tiger ornament at her grandmother's house. She just knows it's special, and that night, she sleeps with it under her pillow. Anna wakes up to find herself magically transported to a snowy Russian village. A tiger cub has been spotted nearby, sending the villagers into a panic. But Anna feels drawn to the tiger and decides to venture out on her own to find it. 

In the Winter Journeys series, readers join the story characters in their exciting time travels to lands of ice and snow!

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2023

About the author

Holly Webb is one of Britain's best-loved children's writers. She has written over a hundred books for children, and her work has been translated into over thirty languages. Holly lives in Tilehurst, just outside of Reading, Berkshire, with her husband, three children and several cats.

Reviews

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anna falls asleep one night clutching a toy tiger and dreams that she is actually her cousin Annushka in Russia. As Annushka, she hears about a tiger that is loose in the town. People think it must be a cub whose mother was killed by poachers. Annushka knows that it is dangerous, but she feels something drawing her out into the forest to search for the tiger cub.

It's never really explained how Anna could dream that she is Annushka and somehow share her experiences, but it's a fun bit of magic in the story. Annushka is so full of compassion for the poor starving tiger cub that she will go hungry, brave the cold, and even risk frostbite to help the little tiger. I was impressed with that sacrificial love that she shows. She thinks of the tiger's wellbeing before her own.

I enjoyed the simple writing style which is perfect for young readers ages 6-10.
The illustrations are beautiful pencil drawings in a light and airy style that is very attractive. There is an illustration every 4-5 pages, bringing the story to life.

I love the positive messages of compassion and hope in this book.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book, dragged on a bit at times (for me) but O loved it and was very into it, making predictions and generally being excited about it, which made it fun to read together. 🐅

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

So good!! I would totally do what Anna did! I was very confused in the beginning and the end. And the chapters were so long!! Great stuff in the back! Love the pictures! I read it in summer at like 100 F! So it made me feel cozy! 😊 It is so sad that people do such bad things to tigers! I cried because I had a cat who looked like a tiger and I pretended that she was Russian! She died a couple months ago. 😭😭😭 I miss her a lot!