Mr. Tiger Goes Wild: A Wild Good Time!

A Review By: Amelia 

I’ve recently become enamoured with children’s books. I think it comes from me being a nanny and having many children’s books at my finger tips. Or perhaps children’s books have just gotten better and I’d read them whether or not I worked with children! Probably, it’s the latter considering how Mr. Tiger Goes Wild is a children’s book I picked up at the library one day and took back to my own house and not the kid’s house! And am I ever glad I did because it is a fantastic story!

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, despite being a children’s picture book, asks some very important questions. Are you bored with being so proper? Do you want to have more fun? Mr. Tiger knows exactly how you feel. So he decided to go wild. But does he go too far?

Peter Brown, the writer and illustrator of Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, grew up in New Jersey and spent his time imagining and drawing silly characters. After he earned his B.F.A. in Illustration he moved to Brooklyn and spent several years painting backgrounds for animated TV shows. In 2003 he received a book deal and made his first picture book Flight of the Dodo (which is a story that involves bird poop… in case you’re into that kind of thing), and since then has written/illustrated several other books which have been adapted into plays and animated shorts, been translated into a dozen languages, and have won numerous awards.

How can you not love dapper animals?

The characters of the piece are a society of animals. Not just any kind of society though, oh no, it’s a Victorian animal society. It’s all very prim, all very proper, and all very adorable! Seriously, Mr. Tiger in his suit and top hat is the best thing you’ll ever see–I guarantee it. Mr. Tiger though, does not like his stuffy clothing and that’s where his personality comes through. He’s a tiger that craves something more from life than what he sees around himself. He’s a character that pretty much anyone can relate to and that’s always a pleasure to read.

The art in Mr. Tiger Goes Wild is very stylized. It’s very blocky, very neat, and very minimalistic in the colours, and shading. To me it felt very textured and alive even though it is very minimalistic. For a children’s book it is incredibly subtle but it’s still eye-catching and vibrant and shows a lot of life and character.

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild is a story that teaches the lesson that it’s okay to be a little strange, a little different from all those around you. It’s a story that teaches you to be passionate about the things that make you happy no matter what anybody else tells you or thinks about you. Personally I think that’s a great lesson to be teaching kids–I mean, if you have to cram a lesson into a children’s book, make it a good one!

My final thoughts on Mr. Tiger Goes Wild are that it is such a great little book: for children and adults alike. And it’s all the better if you read it aloud with a haughty British accent for all the characters like I did. Mr. Tiger Goes Wild is a truly entertaining book that teaches that there is a time and place for everything–including going wild!