Riding the Tiger

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Esteemed author Eve Bunting brings all her insight, empathy, and storytelling skill to this powerful allegorical tale, set in the streets of an unnamed city and illustrated with striking woodcuts. Danny, new to town, is proud when a glittery-eyed tiger invites him for a ride. He climbs up onto the tiger's massive back, and together they cruise the neighborhood. Everyone gives them respect—shopkeepers and passersby, even other kids. Danny feels powerful and much older than ten. Soon, though, he realizes it isn't respect people feel for him and the tiger—it's fear. And when he decides to get down off the tiger's back, he discovers it's a lot harder than climbing on.Whether the tiger is interpreted to represent gangs, drugs, or something else altogether, this poetically told, dramatically illustrated book is sure to provoke discussions about temp-tation, peer pressure, and conformity.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Bunting's provocative allegory uses a tiger to personify the powerful allure of the gang. When the tiger calls Danny by name and invites him for a ride through their tough city neighborhood, the boy accepts, but soon learns that he has made a dangerous mistake. The tiger talks about respect, but wins it through taunts and intimidation. When Danny tries to get off the tiger's back, the tiger threatens him. "But maybe I don't want you to get off," the tiger says. "Maybe I want to get to know you better." Only when the tiger traumatizes a homeless man can the boy conquer his own fear to aid the tiger's victim. Bunting's 1997 picture book, Your Move, highlighted the same dilemma; in it, the boy's loving family and supportive neighbors are set against the menace of the gang. Here the story recedes in importance as the author trumpets the moral dilemma ("Do you want what I want?" asks the tiger, "Because anyone who isn't for us is against us"). Danny's family and friends never appear onstage, and the conflict is played out entirely in Danny's mind. Frampton's stark, stylized woodcuts, medieval in their conception and intensity, heighten the story's morality-play atmosphere. Like Your Move, the book will be most useful as a discussion-starter. Ages 6-9. (Mar.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Children's Literature

Danny, a new boy in town, is lonely, unsure of himself and a bit bored. He is flattered when a massive tiger invites him to climb upon his back. They cruise the neighborhood, and Danny feels powerful and proud as shopkeepers give him space and kids envy his status. When a group of boys invites Danny to join them in a game of basketball, Danny learns that it is not so easy to climb down from the tiger. What he thought was respect from his peers he now realizes was fear. Controlled by the tiger, Danny is afraid of the path he is taking, but when he chooses to come to the assistance of a homeless man, Danny is able to break free of the tiger's hold. The message of this haunting allegory￯﾿ﾽto avoid the temptation of conformity and to stand tall for individualism￯﾿ﾽis related in vivid language. The metaphorical tiger is rendered in his blunt, angled woodcuts that capture his power and control. Bunting has crafted a tale for today's children, who often find themselves riding the tiger. Used as a discussion starter, this book will empower kids to become masters of their own fate. 2001, Clarion, $16.00. Ages 8 to 12. Reviewer: Beverley Fahey

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4-Ten-year-old Danny is new in town, so when an imposing tiger offers him a ride, he's flattered and intrigued. However, as they swagger together through the city, Danny notices that the beast is eliciting fear-not respect-from shopkeepers, school kids, and neighbors. When a young man invites him to join a basketball game and Danny vacillates, the tiger turns threatening and seems to grow larger. Finally, it terrifies a homeless man into injuring himself, and Danny must decide whether to surrender his powerful perch and help, or remain on the now-frightening beast. His courageous and painful fall to the pavement and ultimate concern for the stranger break the tiger's hold. Danny denies his association with the big cat and it disappears. The woodcut illustrations and dark palette capture the grittiness of the setting; the angular and fierce animal is drawn with thick strong lines while people, with curving profiles and trusting eyes, project hope as well as fear. Bunting's thinly veiled allegory will be obvious to most school-aged readers and especially pertinent to those struggling with gang membership. The first-person telling allows for doubt and introspection; Danny is exhilarated by his alliance with the beast, then struggles with doubt and self-deprecation when its ruthlessness is revealed. The powerful imagery ("He smelled of something dark and exciting") contrasts with an occasional dated expression ("The concrete hit me like a pile driver") but pacing is as relentless as a stalking cat and the message is as purposeful. A provocative look at a timely topic.-Carol Ann Wilson, Westfield Memorial Library, NJ Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

After a long string of career hits from Bunting (The Wall, 1990, Smoky Night, 1994, etc.), we have a miss: a bald, ham-handed allegory cautioning kids against gang membership and peer conformity. Danny, a ten-year-old, new-kid-on-the-block, is immediately greeted by a savvy tiger that invites him to come along for a ride. In a series of exchanges over multiple pages, they prowl the mean streets of an urban neighborhood. As the ride proceeds, the fun fades and it becomes clear that shopkeepers, cops, girls gathered on a street corner, and even a group shooting baskets are firmly under this tiger's paw. Ominously, gang colors and "tags" (here depicted as the tiger's black paw-print) are everywhere. Happily, the scales fall from Danny's eyes by the short ride's end. When Danny dismounts to help a terrified "bum, rooting through garbage," the tiger turns and snarls his threat: "You've had your chance. You'll never be one of us . . ." The message is pounded home: "Once you get up on the tiger's back, it's hard to get off. . . . But if you get off fast enough it's still possible." Frampton's handsome woodcuts capture the sinister slink of the tiger and the potent mix of attraction and danger he projects. Those who work in therapeutic settings with at-risk kids may want to add it to their treatment arsenal. However, libraries-especially urban libraries-may find this a far too simple answer to a complex question. Most general readers-kids and their parents, grandparents, and older siblings-will find this simplistic and preachy. (Picture book. 6-9)