The Tiger Who Would Be King

A cautionary tale about the futility of war by the late American humorist receives a stunning visual interpretation from Yoon . . . A picture book that will be embraced due to its successful handling of difficult themes.

Most of Thurber's fables are lighthearted diversions, but this tale of a tiger that declares itself king of beasts finds the humorist at his darkest and driest. The forest animals, drawn into the tiger's revolt against the lion, fight without knowing why; when the dust clears, the tiger is indeed king of beasts--but only because all the other animals are dead. (Moral: "You can't very well be king of beasts if there aren't any.") As befits a tale of wholesale slaughter, Yoon's work is grim and haunting. Harnessing the energy of primitive folk art and using conflicting hues of red and green, Yoon (Beastly Verse) prints the creatures' big, blobby shapes right over one another, further heightening the sense of combat. A climactic gatefold captures two random moments in the chaos. On the outside, an elephant swipes at an approaching boar, and a stag rushes toward a rhinoceros. Opened up, the stag is entangled in the horns of a moose, and a zebra rears in rage. The illustrations constitute a wholly serious piece of artwork, one that may remind older readers of Picasso's Guernica. Ages 6-9. (Sept.)

Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Gr 3 Up--Thurber's fable of the tiger who decided to overthrow the lion and become king of the beasts might remind people of some of the world's contemporary chaos. A massive battle erupts as the animals take sides in the attempted overthrow. Some of the animals did not know which side they were fighting for, and some "fought whoever was nearest, and some fought for the sake of fighting." "'What are we fighting for?' someone asked the aardvark. 'The old order, ' said the aardvark. 'What are we dying for?' someone asked the zebra. 'The new order, ' said the zebra." Yoon's strong color scheme of orange, green, black, and cream features crudely formed animals boldly filling black and sometimes cream pages. Oddly shaped palm-style trees and fields of grass spread across a few scenes, but masses of animals predominate with the heart of the horrendous battle spread profusely over a long double foldout view. This dark tale ends with all the animals dead "except the tiger, and his days were numbered and his time ticking away." As is customary in fables, there's a moral: "You can't very well be king of the beasts if there aren't any." VERDICT A perfect picture book for older readers that serves as a powerful lesson about war and great fodder for discussion.--Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.