I don't remember now how I first heard of this book, but I originally borrowed this 1963 story of sequential consequences through inter-library loan and found it hilarious, delightful, and still fresh and fun.
A hungry tiger meets a little boy and tells him to run, since he is going to eat him! "I have no run left in me" declares the boy, and tells the tiger a lengthy story of how he has been running all day, trying to escape from a rhino. The tiger responds, "that's good!" or "that's bad" to each twist and turn in the story until....well, I won't tell you how the clever boy ends the story and escapes the tiger AND the rhino. The illustrations are bright and I love the way Aliki separated the different threads of the story and keeps the main characters viewing the action at the sides.After testing it on preschool kids and finding them absolutely spellbound, sitting in breathless anticipation of each flip of the plot, I found a used copy for my professional collection and we enjoyed it for several years. Finally, in 2020, a new edition was published!
I've frequently heard it said that kids can't, or won't, sit still like they "used to". Now, there are a lot of different factors in this - electronics of course, and school schedules, and considering that we are now doing storytimes for babies whereas a few decades ago storytime was for elementary-aged kids. However, in my experience, toddlers and preschoolers will quite happily sit for even a lengthy story if it is has a folktale-like cadence.
I may have read this story as a child, but once I rediscovered it I realized I absolutely had to have it for storytime. I purchased an old and rather worn copy online and the kids LOVED it. They even liked my introduction, where I showed them "the mystery book" since it was missing its jacket!
Nevertheless, one can't fully enjoy a book unless you can recommend it to friends and colleagues, and with the only copy in my professional collection, kids coming to the library wanting the book I read in class were bound to be disappointed. So I was THRILLED when I found out that Prestel was republishing this gem!
The story is simple. Boy is exhausted, sitting on a rock, when Tiger shows up. Tiger tells him to run, so he can chase him and eat him, and Boy replies (in my favorite phrase of the book) "Eat me then...I have no more run in me." Tiger is curious, so Boy tells him the story of his adventures, with Tiger responding "That's good" and "That's bad" as one thing leads to another. It turns out, Boy is being chased by Rhino and a wild chase it's been!
Each spread is in dark blue with the shadow of green trees and the figures of Boy and Rhino acting out the story. In the forefront is the face of Boy, the storyteller, and Tiger, the listener, while the text runs on a white background strip below.
When Boy finally gets to the end of his story, there's an unexpected ending for Tiger and Boy's clever tale saves the day and that's good! For Boy at least...
This edition keeps the original art and text, although it's in a larger format than the original I have, which makes it a much better read-aloud. It adds some background information on the author and illustrator and compares the story to the Scheherazade and the Arabian Nights. The only problem I've had with this story is explaining to kids that Boy is NOT wearing a diaper - I tell them he's wearing special shorts because he lives somewhere very hot.
Verdict: I am delighted to see this classic story back in print and in a lovely edition that's perfect for reading aloud. I can't wait for my friends to be able to share it with a whole new generation of kids, who I promise you WILL sit still for it!
I may have read this story as a child, but once I rediscovered it I realized I absolutely had to have it for storytime. I purchased an old and rather worn copy online and the kids LOVED it. They even liked my introduction, where I showed them "the mystery book" since it was missing its jacket!
Nevertheless, one can't fully enjoy a book unless you can recommend it to friends and colleagues, and with the only copy in my professional collection, kids coming to the library wanting the book I read in class were bound to be disappointed. So I was THRILLED when I found out that Prestel was republishing this gem!
The story is simple. Boy is exhausted, sitting on a rock, when Tiger shows up. Tiger tells him to run, so he can chase him and eat him, and Boy replies (in my favorite phrase of the book) "Eat me then...I have no more run in me." Tiger is curious, so Boy tells him the story of his adventures, with Tiger responding "That's good" and "That's bad" as one thing leads to another. It turns out, Boy is being chased by Rhino and a wild chase it's been!
Each spread is in dark blue with the shadow of green trees and the figures of Boy and Rhino acting out the story. In the forefront is the face of Boy, the storyteller, and Tiger, the listener, while the text runs on a white background strip below.
When Boy finally gets to the end of his story, there's an unexpected ending for Tiger and Boy's clever tale saves the day and that's good! For Boy at least...
This edition keeps the original art and text, although it's in a larger format than the original I have, which makes it a much better read-aloud. It adds some background information on the author and illustrator and compares the story to the Scheherazade and the Arabian Nights. The only problem I've had with this story is explaining to kids that Boy is NOT wearing a diaper - I tell them he's wearing special shorts because he lives somewhere very hot.
Verdict: I am delighted to see this classic story back in print and in a lovely edition that's perfect for reading aloud. I can't wait for my friends to be able to share it with a whole new generation of kids, who I promise you WILL sit still for it!
Revisited: This is still available, but you will need to purchase directly from the publisher or from an online seller rather than a library vendor.
ISBN: 9783791374192; This edition published March 2020 by Prestel; Review copy provided by publisher and added to my professional collection to replace my battered old copy; Purchased another copy for the general library
ISBN: 9783791374192; This edition published March 2020 by Prestel; Review copy provided by publisher and added to my professional collection to replace my battered old copy; Purchased another copy for the general library
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