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Moon Tiger
After getting in trouble because of her little brother Michael, Jessica Ellen imagines a visit from a wonderful giant tiger who can take her flying through the night or eat Michael.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
1 person is currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
Phyllis Root
107 books71 followers"Picture books are performances," says Phyllis Root, quoting some sage advice she once received. "They're performances that involve a child--something both of you do. And once I started thinking of them that way, I started getting much looser about making up words and playing around with rhythm."
Phyllis Root picked up an early affinity for colloquial language while growing up in Indiana and southern Illinois, "where people actually say things like, 'I got a hitch in my git-along'!" She decided to be a writer in the fifth grade, but it wasn't until she was thirty years old that she took a writing course with an influential teacher who gave her "the tools" she says she needed. "That's when I figured out that you could learn to be a writer," she says. What followed was a series of rollicking stories that take on a new life when read aloud, among them ONE DUCK STUCK, a one-of-a-kind counting book; KISS THE COW!, an affectionate salute to stubbornness; WHAT BABY WANTS, a tale of increasingly ridiculous efforts to quiet an infant that one reviewer compared to an episode of I LOVE LUCY, and LOOKING FOR A MOOSE, a buoyant tale with a final surprise discovery.
The author does "endless rewriting" before a book is finished, but often starts out by writing her stories in her head, a trick she learned as a time-pressed mother when her two daughters were very young. For example, RATTLETRAP CAR--a joyful celebration of perseverance--began with her playing around with sounds ("clinkety clankety, bing bang pop!") and calling up bits of old camp songs.
A master of rhythmic read-alouds, Phyllis Root exhibits a range many writers would envy. Her counting book TEN SLEEPY SHEEP is as serene and lulling as ONE DUCK STUCK is rambunctious. "Counting sheep isn't always easy," she notes. "Once, while we were farm-sitting, my daughter and I had to chase down two runaway lambs in the growing darkness, then count twenty-seven frisky lambs to make sure they were all safe for the night. Luckily, they were." OLIVER FINDS HIS WAY is a quiet, classic picture book about a defining moment in the life of a small child--getting lost and having the pluck to find the way home. On the other extreme, Phyllis Root takes on no less than the whole universe in BIG MOMMA MAKES THE WORLD, a powerful, original, down-home creation myth that received rave reviews and won the prestigious BOSTON GLOBE-HORN BOOK Award. Most recently, Phyllis Root penned LUCIA AND THE LIGHT, a timeless adventure about one brave girl's quest that was inspired by Nordic lore.
When she's not writing, Phyllis Root teaches at Vermont College's MFA in Writing for Children program. She lives with her two daughters and two cats in a 100-year-old house in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and loves to read (mostly mysteries with female protagonists) or spend time outdoors gardening, camping, sailing, or traveling. "One of the things I've learned about myself," she confides, "is that when I get really stuck and can't seem to get writing, it's because I've forgotten to take time out to play."
Phyllis Root picked up an early affinity for colloquial language while growing up in Indiana and southern Illinois, "where people actually say things like, 'I got a hitch in my git-along'!" She decided to be a writer in the fifth grade, but it wasn't until she was thirty years old that she took a writing course with an influential teacher who gave her "the tools" she says she needed. "That's when I figured out that you could learn to be a writer," she says. What followed was a series of rollicking stories that take on a new life when read aloud, among them ONE DUCK STUCK, a one-of-a-kind counting book; KISS THE COW!, an affectionate salute to stubbornness; WHAT BABY WANTS, a tale of increasingly ridiculous efforts to quiet an infant that one reviewer compared to an episode of I LOVE LUCY, and LOOKING FOR A MOOSE, a buoyant tale with a final surprise discovery.
The author does "endless rewriting" before a book is finished, but often starts out by writing her stories in her head, a trick she learned as a time-pressed mother when her two daughters were very young. For example, RATTLETRAP CAR--a joyful celebration of perseverance--began with her playing around with sounds ("clinkety clankety, bing bang pop!") and calling up bits of old camp songs.
A master of rhythmic read-alouds, Phyllis Root exhibits a range many writers would envy. Her counting book TEN SLEEPY SHEEP is as serene and lulling as ONE DUCK STUCK is rambunctious. "Counting sheep isn't always easy," she notes. "Once, while we were farm-sitting, my daughter and I had to chase down two runaway lambs in the growing darkness, then count twenty-seven frisky lambs to make sure they were all safe for the night. Luckily, they were." OLIVER FINDS HIS WAY is a quiet, classic picture book about a defining moment in the life of a small child--getting lost and having the pluck to find the way home. On the other extreme, Phyllis Root takes on no less than the whole universe in BIG MOMMA MAKES THE WORLD, a powerful, original, down-home creation myth that received rave reviews and won the prestigious BOSTON GLOBE-HORN BOOK Award. Most recently, Phyllis Root penned LUCIA AND THE LIGHT, a timeless adventure about one brave girl's quest that was inspired by Nordic lore.
When she's not writing, Phyllis Root teaches at Vermont College's MFA in Writing for Children program. She lives with her two daughters and two cats in a 100-year-old house in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and loves to read (mostly mysteries with female protagonists) or spend time outdoors gardening, camping, sailing, or traveling. "One of the things I've learned about myself," she confides, "is that when I get really stuck and can't seem to get writing, it's because I've forgotten to take time out to play."
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 6, 2020
I loved this when my boys were small and read it to them over and over again. It's definitely best read aloud, with different voices (the tiger's is, of course, very low and smooth, strong but not loud or growly) and with plenty of expression. I'm not sure how much the boys enjoyed the story themselves, but I'm pretty sure they enjoyed listening to me enjoy reading it out loud.
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Yet another reread. Turns out I still have it almost memorized, so this time I'm going to let it go. I hope a new family enjoys sharing it together. (Free to anyone in the US who asks for it.)
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Yet another reread. Turns out I still have it almost memorized, so this time I'm going to let it go. I hope a new family enjoys sharing it together. (Free to anyone in the US who asks for it.)
October 14, 2014
Phyllis Root begins Jessica Ellen’s adventure with a typical beginning that all children with siblings can relate to…a girl is sent to bed early as a punishment for refusing to read to her little brother. After turning the second page of Moon Tiger, the story becomes anything but commonplace. Reminiscent of Where the Wild Things Are, once Jessica Ellen enters her room, she escapes the tedium of her captivity through fantasizing about a giant moon tiger creeping into her room and rescuing her. Ed Young’s startling image of glowing tiger eyes mesmerize you and pull you along on Jessica Ellen’s adventure as she jumps on the tiger’s back. They soar through the starry night sky of North Pole to bounding through the dark lushness of the African jungles. Once she tires, she has the moon tiger return her to the safety and comforts of her house, where she protects her little brother by refusing to let the moon tiger gobble him up…even though he gets her into trouble all of the time.
February 3, 2021
I liked the way that the author included many different thoughts and ideas that you might actually hear from a seven year old. The realistic touches to this fantasy picture book were well done. This book would work nicely as a model text in a 2nd or 3rd grade classroom. It demonstrates a fantasy fiction novel that is specifically focused on taking the reader to an alternate reality. There are interesting descriptions included in the book, such as how the tiger moves across Jessica’s room by leaping and stretching. The author’s voice is also clearly heard in this book, especially when her mom calls her by her first and middle name to denote that she has had enough of her children for one day.
The text also utilizes some interesting vocabulary that would make for an interesting Word-Splash lesson prior to the reading. The words that I would include in the lesson are as follows:
Fault
leap
Nestled
Wilds
Enormous
tremendous
Brave
bound
Scratchy
Spring
Snuggling
Disappearing
Float
The text also utilizes some interesting vocabulary that would make for an interesting Word-Splash lesson prior to the reading. The words that I would include in the lesson are as follows:
Fault
leap
Nestled
Wilds
Enormous
tremendous
Brave
bound
Scratchy
Spring
Snuggling
Disappearing
Float
December 22, 2017
It was okay.
March 21, 2021
Beautiful!
July 11, 2022
This is a magical story that embraces imagination, with dreamlike illustrations.
October 17, 2013
Moon Tiger is the story of a young girl who goes on a magical night adventure with a moon tiger. The girl, Jessica Ellen, is mad at her little brother Michael for getting her in trouble. He went crying to mom when Jessica refused to read him a bedtime story. As a consequence, Jessica is sent to bed early at the same time as Michael. Inside her room she wishes for a tiger, a special moon tiger, to visit her.
The story is written in the future tense. The girl is hypothesizing what her adventure with the tiger will be. This leads me to believe that the girl's adventure with moon tiger is imaginative not real. The illustrations depict what the Jessica hopes will happen when the tiger comes. There are dark hues and overtones throughout the pictures, suggesting the story takes place at night. This makes sense because the story is about a moon tiger. Although the moon tiger is a mythical creatures, it is drawn realistically. The body appears to be made of soft orange and black fur and the eyes seem bright and curious. In my opinion, there is more detail used in the tiger's face than there are in the human faces. I think this is because the tiger is a source of importance for Jessica and the author wants the reader's attention to be drawn to him.
The story is written in the future tense. The girl is hypothesizing what her adventure with the tiger will be. This leads me to believe that the girl's adventure with moon tiger is imaginative not real. The illustrations depict what the Jessica hopes will happen when the tiger comes. There are dark hues and overtones throughout the pictures, suggesting the story takes place at night. This makes sense because the story is about a moon tiger. Although the moon tiger is a mythical creatures, it is drawn realistically. The body appears to be made of soft orange and black fur and the eyes seem bright and curious. In my opinion, there is more detail used in the tiger's face than there are in the human faces. I think this is because the tiger is a source of importance for Jessica and the author wants the reader's attention to be drawn to him.
December 10, 2011
I was surprised by my older son's 'you can't see me smiling' smile when we read the part where the tiger asks the older sibling if he should eat the younger one (after older one launches a litany of complaints about younger sib), and she says, "I guess not"...sometimes the way my two fight I think they would happily sell each other down the river, but at least if the look ohis face during the reading of this book is correct, perhaps they wouldn't.
November 18, 2014
i didn't like this book but i guess it does have the lesson sometimes you have to do things for your siblings that you neccesarily don't want to do. but other than that i think that the story was a bit jagged and jumpy for my liking. but the illustrations were absolutely gorgeous. the chalk pastels that the illustrator used were beautiful and i would just look at the tiger for a while. so i may pick it up again and look at the illustrations just to appreciate them but not the story or theme.
July 22, 2008
This should be a classic children's book. I was one of my favorites as a child, and I bought it for my son. It is one of those books that is food for the imagination. It leaves so much room for alternate adventures starring you!!! Which is a must in children's books. Even after all of these years I still find it a pleasure to read.
March 12, 2016
(Also read July 1986)
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews