Can We Share the World with Tigers?

Gr 2-3–This science book packs several ideas into a picture book for young children. What begins with a charming story of a Bengal tigress and her cubs and the dangers in their world quickly turns into a race through facts about the world, ecology, biodiversity, habitat destruction, species population, mass extinction, invasive species, eco-footprints, and alternative energy. It is all a bit overwhelming. The cartoon-style illustrations and fictional approach belie the seriousness of the topic,  for instance, the tigress licking a monkey to say thank you for a warning of approaching danger. The text romps through history and jumps from spot to spot on Earth, making the material disconnected and confusing. On one spread children are reading about early hunters and gatherers and on the next they see the tigers looking at a large city with skyscrapers. A couple of pages later the tigers are in a boat on the ocean. The Bengal tigers will appeal to children, but they are likely to miss most of the information the author is trying to impart.–Erlene Bishop Killeen, Stoughton Area School District, WI