Hold Your Temper, Tiger

by Carol Roth, Rashin (Illustrator)

Overview

A playful look at managing tempers for tigers of every age.

Little Tiger has a temper! He stomps his paws, cries, and growls when he doesn't want to do something. But when his mom says “Hold your temper or else,” Little Tiger has to make some changes. Where will he hold his temper? In his pocket . . . in his underwear?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780735842748
Publisher:	NorthSouth Books
Publication date:	03/07/2017
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD460L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Carol Roth has always loved writing. Carol’s many wonderful books include Five Little Ducklings Go to Bed, Where’s My Mommy?, The Little School Bus, Who Will Tuck Me in Tonight?, and Ten Dirty Pigs/Ten Clean Pigs: An Upside-Down Turn-Around, Bath Time Counting Book. Her books have won a Children’s Choice Book Award (2005), the Missouri Building Block Award for Best Picture Book (2003), and the Parent’s Guide to Children’s Media Award for Outstanding Achievement in Children’s Books (1999). Carol lives in New Jersey (USA) with her husband, Mark.



Rashin was born in Iran and now lives in Washington, D.C. She is one of the most outstanding young Iranian illustrators working today. She is a 2017 Sendak Fellowship recipient and a 2014 IBBY Honor. She has also been awarded the Golden Apple of Bratislava and was selected for the 2013 Bologna Book Fair Illustrators Exhibit. Among her many books are Two Parrots, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, and The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor—her first books published in the United States.

Editorial Reviews

12/19/2016
“Little Tiger had a temper,” writes Roth (Five Little Ducklings Go to School), and Rashin (There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly) pictures his temper as a sort of spiky red ghost that stomps, cries, and yells along with the temperamental young tiger. After Little Tiger’s refusal to clean up his toys leads to a threat from Mama (“You had better hold onto your temper, Tiger... or else!”), he rethinks his attitude, since “or else” could mean any number of unwelcome punishments. Painted in forceful shades of red, blue, yellow, and green, Rashin’s artwork makes a big impact; readers will easily recognize parts of themselves in this cranky, golden-furred hero. Little Tiger’s solution (stuffing his temper under his baseball cap) is mostly played for laughs, but the idea of decentering angry emotions could still prove useful for the tantrum prone. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

05/01/2017
PreS-K—Little Tiger has a temper that flares up when he does not get his way, which is often. When Mama Tiger tells him to wash his tail at bath time, he yells, cries, and stomps his feet, and his tantrums get even worse when he's denied more cookies. One day, when Little Tiger refuses to clean up his toys, Mama gives him an ultimatum. "Don't make me ask you again," she says. "I'M NOT DOING IT!" he bellows. She warns him to "hold" his temper "or else," which frightens Little Tiger enough to make some effort to control his volatile emotions to avoid the risk of losing playtime, books, or even his coveted dessert. The crucial question is where to hold his temper: In his pocket? In his hand? In his underwear? Finally, Little Tiger discovers that the perfect place to keep his anger in check is in a baseball cap. Reminiscent in many ways of the protagonist of Molly Bang's When Sophie Gets Angry—Really, Really Angry, Little Tiger does not run off to a quieter place to cool down but releases his temper only to capture it again. It may seem odd that a hat is able to store emotions, but Roth uses the cap to suggest that it's OK for Little Tiger to express himself privately without completely losing his temper. Rashin's bold red background conveys the overall mood of the story, and the quirky pictures of Little Tiger exhaling blue, green, and red flames (some with ghoulish expressions) add a comical element to a tale about the frustrating difficulties of handling emotions. VERDICT A picture book that will find an audience among preschoolers who are learning to deal with anger issues.—Etta Anton, Yeshiva of Central Queens, NY

School Library Journal

2016-12-21
A picture book paints Tiger's temper literally, as a frowning little red ball of flame.Little Tiger's temper has spiky hair, black eyes, and a frowny mouth and is shaped like a little ball of fire. Looking rather like a plush toy, it does not seem mean-spirited or intimidating. Yet this visual depiction of a feeling is never far from Tiger, mimicking his yelling and stomping. When Mama says "You had better hold your temper, Tiger," he considers his choices. What does it mean to hold your temper? Where should he hold it? The book hinges on wordplay that seems more sophisticated than its target audience. When Tiger grabs hold of the ball of temper, both seem confused, a feeling little listeners will probably share. Rashin's illustrations, while vibrant and engaging, have adult connotations that may raise eyebrows. A bellicose Tiger wields a bat in anger at his mother. In a strategy obviously meant to be humorous, the temper is shoved into Tiger's underpants. The realistic acknowledgment of children's anger is appreciated but possibly misplaced, as the one-liner play on words of "holding your temper" never explains its metaphor. The book closes with this unsatisfying sentiment after Tiger roars his anger into his baseball cap: "Don't worry. I'll never lose my temper again. I know exactly where it is." This might be more of a lesson to adults to examine word choices than a tool for children about anger management. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews

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