What do you think?
Rate this book
The Tiger Child: A Folk Tale from India
The tiger child is sent to fetch some more fire from the village, but on the way he gets distracted by his friends. By the time he gets to the village, he has forgotten what he has been sent to fetch.
- GenresPicture BooksChildrens
32 pages, Paperback
First published October 31, 1950
7 people are currently reading
117 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 23, 2013
The Tiger Child: Folk tales of the World – A folk tale from India
By Joanna Troughton
This story teaches children about the ancient Indian myth of the ‘Tiger Child’. The idea that animals once cooked their own food, which is a common theme in ancient myths across the world, stems from this story.
I would suggest that the suitable age range is Year 2/Year 3 as the book uses simple sentences which are easy to read. The book incorporates many verbs including ‘played’, ‘climbed’ and ‘splashed’. It makes use of many literary techniques which will draw the child in including question, repetition and emphatic language. There is also lots of emotive language used; the author makes the reader feel the tiredness of the tiger and the fear of the people.
There are lots of colourful and eye-catching illustrations which will capture the attention of a child and make the book more fun to read. The story is also told through the colourful pictures of India which would help EAL children if they are finding reading challenging. I would highly recommend this book as I think it would really appeal to children.
By Joanna Troughton
This story teaches children about the ancient Indian myth of the ‘Tiger Child’. The idea that animals once cooked their own food, which is a common theme in ancient myths across the world, stems from this story.
I would suggest that the suitable age range is Year 2/Year 3 as the book uses simple sentences which are easy to read. The book incorporates many verbs including ‘played’, ‘climbed’ and ‘splashed’. It makes use of many literary techniques which will draw the child in including question, repetition and emphatic language. There is also lots of emotive language used; the author makes the reader feel the tiredness of the tiger and the fear of the people.
There are lots of colourful and eye-catching illustrations which will capture the attention of a child and make the book more fun to read. The story is also told through the colourful pictures of India which would help EAL children if they are finding reading challenging. I would highly recommend this book as I think it would really appeal to children.
June 4, 2017
Lovely, traditional folk tale about a baby tiger who leaves his jungle life to live in a nearby village with humans- where he becomes a house cat. The moral of the story being how cats first became pets.
I read this story with my year 1 class, during the traditional tale sequence (English). It was a great alternative to stories previously covered such as Cinderella, The Three Billy Goats Gruff etc. Children were able to follow the story well and enjoyed joining in with repetitive language used. All children, including EAL children were able to understand and use languge from the story.
Children emphathised well with the characters and produced some fantastic descriptive writing about why the tiger child preferred living in the village. They also enjoyed paired role play (tiger child and villager) of key events in the story.
We also used illustrations in the story to paint a tiger as part of the IPC topic- animals around the world.
I read this story with my year 1 class, during the traditional tale sequence (English). It was a great alternative to stories previously covered such as Cinderella, The Three Billy Goats Gruff etc. Children were able to follow the story well and enjoyed joining in with repetitive language used. All children, including EAL children were able to understand and use languge from the story.
Children emphathised well with the characters and produced some fantastic descriptive writing about why the tiger child preferred living in the village. They also enjoyed paired role play (tiger child and villager) of key events in the story.
We also used illustrations in the story to paint a tiger as part of the IPC topic- animals around the world.
May 2, 2023
At the beginning there is an introduction explaining that there are a few traditional tales regarding man getting fire which I found quite interesting. This then leads nicely into the story.
The story itself was simple and easy to understand. The font was clear and a nice size so was easy to read. The background to the writing was orange so this may cause problems for some people, but otherwise it was clear. The writing was in different places on each page, but it was easy to follow and added interest.
I enjoyed the story as a whole and the accompanying illustrations were bright, colourful and went well with the story.
Overall a lovely book to read with your child.
The story itself was simple and easy to understand. The font was clear and a nice size so was easy to read. The background to the writing was orange so this may cause problems for some people, but otherwise it was clear. The writing was in different places on each page, but it was easy to follow and added interest.
I enjoyed the story as a whole and the accompanying illustrations were bright, colourful and went well with the story.
Overall a lovely book to read with your child.
September 11, 2018
This is a really fun little folk tale, which I used to teach my class. The story and illustrations are fun and very undemanding.
June 8, 2021
Using this Indian folk tale currently with my Y2 class for our India topic! Interesting story about the domestication of wild cats. Lots of inspiration for story writing and story mapping.
July 19, 2021
Wonderful
September 9, 2021
Fab illustrations, simple concept. Love the use of nature. Factually incorrect at the end which makes me worry children would believe kt
September 22, 2021
A lovely book about domestic cats!
October 22, 2021
A beautifully illustrated book that got the children bursting with questions. Very intriguing story and a brilliant introduction to folktales that promoted reading for pleasure.
March 17, 2024
It is a really cute book to read with my baby girl. And a good way for her to get to know things about India.
April 3, 2023
I liked the repetition in this book, children will learn what is coming next. Lots of conversations can be had about this book.
Read
September 20, 2015We read this story because we have been talking about caring about one another. The villagers did lots of caring things for the tiger child.
Read
January 27, 2018An easy gentle book about how the tiger becomes a cat and no longer looks for fire - but sits beside it as a tabby. It is a small introduction to Indian and different places with lovely illustrations that convey the country and its iconic life more vividly than the simple story. A good KS1 after lunch/topic intro.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews