Tiger in My Soup

The lady or the tiger? Try the older sister or the tiger--the stakes are nearly as high. Sheth (Monsoon Afternoon) introduces a familiar pair of siblings: the demanding younger brother and "over it" older sister/babysitter. The kids are left home alone for the day--and what a home! Ebbeler (Snow Day for Mouse) pictures it as a modern structure, all angles and windows, perched on a rocky seaside outcropping, as their parents' AMC Pacer swerves off into the distance. The boy is eager to have his sister read his tiger-themed book to him, but she (earbuds in, with reading material of her own) tosses a bowl of alphabet soup his way to get him off her back. Trouble is, a tiger emerges from the soup ("R-O-A-R" read the noodle letters in the boy's bowl), and the battle is on, imagined though it may be. Ebbeler truly knocks it out of the park, gleefully building on Sheth's prose with dynamic perspectives, a realistically detailed (and menacing) tiger, abundant visual hyperbole, and unexpected delights on nearly every page. Ages 4-8. Illustrator's agent: Mela Bolinao, MB Artists. (Apr.)

PreS-Gr 1--An unnamed narrator is left in the care of his older sister while their parents are away for the day. Although he asks her to read him a book about a tiger, she would rather read her own book. He captures her attention long enough to get her to heat up some alphabet soup, but she then tunes him out and doesn't even notice when a tiger rises up out of the steaming bowl. The boy uses a spoon, chair, and other handy utensils to fend off the raging beast until his sister finally puts down her book and agrees to read to him. But her tiger roar is so convincing that he vows to keep a watchful eye on her as he finishes his soup. Ebbeler's vibrant acrylic illustrations include a variety of perspectives both outside their unusual house and within. The boy's imagination is vividly portrayed in pictures that show the tiger magically appearing in the steam and on his sister's face when she roars. Action shots of the narrator defending himself against the menacing cat move the story along, while the girl's inability to see her brother's plight adds some comic relief. This is a good story to show how readers can get wrapped up in a book.--Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT