Total Pageviews

Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Don't Think of Tigers, written and illustrated by Alex Latimer. Random House, Penguin Random House. 2024. $24.99 ages 4 and up

 


"ANOTHER TIGER? 

We all make mistakes. 

Just look how many mistakes 
I made drawing that tiger. 

IT'S GOT EIGHT LEGS! 

But enough tigers, all right? 

You'll get it this time." 

This is one of those books! I know very well that reading it just once will never satisfy listeners. Even the jacket flap is an invitation to fun when it describes what readers are not to be doing while reading the book. So, don't think of tigers! 

The narrator explains early that the book is all about MAGIC. It will only work with the reader's imagination. To start, try thinking of a 'cow doing ballet'. It works like a charm! There's only one warning: Don't think of tigers! The artist cannot draw tigers. 

The proof is in the pudding. As the next drawing shows, the first attempt at a recognizable tiger leaves much to be desired. Time to try again ... and this result is even worse than the last. The reminder is repeated, resulting in yet another hard-to-describe tiger-looking image. After repeating the word tiger a good number of times, the listener is asked to try again. Still hopeless! 

Tiring of the endless refusals to follow instructions, the artist shows just how adept his talent for drawing tigers is. Egad, the deconstructed tiger image that follows is interesting to say the least. What about asking the person who is reading the book to not think about tigers. Nope! They are no help at all. 

The book is coming to an end.  You will have to read it yourself to see the solution ... and a grand one it is! 

A final suggestion only ups the fun for all involved. 

"Find a piece of paper and a pencil. 
Okay. I'm going to close my eyes and 
think of something for YOU to draw. 

Can you guess what I'm thinking of?"         

An absolute winner!                                                                               


No comments:

Post a Comment