The Day Tiger Rose Said Goodbye

by Jane Yolen, Jim LaMarche (Illustrator)

Overview

Not since The 10th Good Thing About Barney or I'll Always Love You has there been such a peaceful and inspiring book to help children and adults cope with the loss of a pet. The talented multiple-medalist Jane Yolen takes on this difficult subject with her usual grace and poetic sensitivity, focusing not on the death as much as the life in the last day of an older cat named Tiger Rose. Tiger Rose's kitten days are long gone and she's grown too tired to stay, so she says her goodbyes to all the creatures and the joys of her natural world—from the scolding blue jay, to the dog and children she shares her home with, to a chipmunk, startled by her gentleness, to her favorite shady patch under a piney bush. In a final vision, Tiger Rose takes one last leap into the blue sky and becomes one with all—the earth, the air, the sun. . . . This is perhaps the most reassuring book on death available for children.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780375966637
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	05/24/2011
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	7.30(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

JANE YOLEN has written 300 books for children, including Owl Moon, winner of the 1988 Caldecott Medal; the bestselling How Do Dinosaurs . . .? series; and our own Hush, Little Horsie. Her work has been recognized with two Christopher Medals, the Golden Kite Award, the Jewish Book Award, and many others for her distinctive middle and YA fantasy fiction. When she is not writing—is she ever not writing?—Jane composes songs, performs as a professional storyteller, and enjoys being a grandma.

JIM LAMARCHE has illustrated over 20 children's books, some of which he has also written. His work has been awarded the Parents magazine Best Book of the Year; the Irma S. and James H. Black Award for Excellence in Picture Books; and the ABA Pick of the List. He lives in central California with his wife and children.

Editorial Reviews

Starred Review, Booklist, July 1, 2011:
"Approaching a subject that many prefer to avoid, Yolen writes with precision and tenderness...A quiet tribute to the passage from life into death and, potentially, a comfort to children facing the death of a pet."

From the Publisher

K-Gr 2—A poetic picture book about a cat that knows she is at the end of her life. Tiger Rose is old and hurting, and she senses that the time has come for her to leave. No catastrophic event harkens her death, just a natural instinct to go off by herself. It's this sense of nature taking its course that is very soothing and makes the death acceptable to readers. Mirroring the soft tone of Yolen's text are LaMarche's light-filled pastel illustrations. Both elements have an ethereal quality to them, which suggests that this is a celebration of the cat's life as she exits peacefully and with dignity. "She never once looked back as she climbed away from life, leaving her old and tired body behind….now part of the earth, the air, the sky, the sun—And all." Children who are experiencing loss will find this book a comfort. Pair it with Judith Viorst's The Tenth Good Thing About Barney (Atheneum, 1971) and Bill Cochran's The Forever Dog (HarperCollins, 2007) for reassurance that death is a natural part of life.—Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

School Library Journal

Yolen tells the carefully crafted story of the death of a pet from the animal's point of view. Young readers go along with Tiger Rose as she prepares to leave her happy family life. One by one she bids farewell to Mom and Pop as they go off to work, to the boy and girl of the family on their way to school, to the vividly visualized greenery and creatures around the house. Finally, relishing all around her, Tiger Rose lies down under the rosebush, curls up, and walks "...slowly up and up and up...and into the luminous sky...leaving her old and tired body behind...now part of the earth, the air, the sky, the sun—and all." LaMarche's pastel illustrations, starting with the gentle, appealing portrait of the cat on the jacket, are naturalistic visuals appropriately accompanying the poetic text. It is easy to relate to the feline's emotions as she visits with the garden creatures for the last time. The end pages picture clearly the before and after. Tiger Rose's story may help young readers deal with the pain of the loss of a favorite pet. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

Children's Literature - Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz