When he discovers a strange object, and thumps it with his "long, sinuous tail" it makes a fine sound. The tiger has been asking animals to be his friend in tiger speech, saying "Rrrrrrrrhhhh," and now he decides that his new friend's "rum pum pum" must be an overture of friendship.
As he continues on his walk through the jungle, he meets a monkey with a long, pink face, a grouchy rhino, bright green parrot, and sticky-tongued chameleon. They are finally joined by a tremendous gray elephant and the new friends parade down the road until an argument breaks out.
The disagreement over who the brand-new friend belongs to is solved when a boy comes out of the forest and recognizes and plays Drum. The Drum tells the story of the tiger and his new friends, and then in the evening light Boy returns home with his Drum and Tiger and his new friends curl up together to sleep.
A note from the authors adds a little information about the animals and the drum, called a tabla, and a brief reflection on how tigers are endangered and need friends.
This has a rhythmic beat to it, not surprising considering both the authors are poets. The repeated lines have a folktale feel to them as well. This makes me a little uncomfortable, with the long history of white authors co-opting the stories of native peoples, but it's not actually a folktale so I guess it doesn't matter.
Verdict: Although the text is fairly lengthy, the repetition and rhythm will make this an excellent read-aloud and the rich illustrations are attractive with expressive faces and movement.
ISBN: 9780823441006; Published September 2020 by Holiday House; Borrowed from another library in my consortium
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