Whenever anyone asks for my favourite book from early childhood, before I discovered the world of Narnia or The Faraway Tree and certainly long before the doors to a certain school of witchcraft and wizardry were open, it has to be the simple but gorgeous story of a tiger and a little girl called Sophie.
The first reason why I think every child is enchanted with this book has to be the visual appeal. The drawings are stunning, especially the use of colour. If I close my eyes, I can see the orange fur of the tiger, the purple of Sophie’s dress, the red icing on the cake and the beautiful street scene in the dark at the end. You can see the loving detail that has gone into every single image, and this is what makes the book live and breathe.
The second is the charming story that the book tells. The visit from the tiger who eats all the food is funny and exciting for a young child, and a figure that could be threatening suddenly becomes a figure of fun and joy. Rather than hurting anyone, the tiger is simply greedy for food and drink. As an adult, it is easier to empathise with Sophie’s mummy, as we have probably all shared the experience of an unwanted visitor who does not bring anything, consumes all the food and drink and then leaves! But as a child, we share Sophie’s wonder at this exotic creature, safely contained within the home environment where his only dangerous habits are eating all the sandwiches and drinking all the tea.
Besides the actual visit from the tiger himself, the book captures the essence of early childhood, when the days can be filled with play, trips to the park and tea parties with mummy. New experiences are a joy, not a threat. One of the parts that stands out the most is when Daddy returns from work, to discover a tiger has eaten all his supper and drunk his beer. Daddy suggests a visit to the cafe for tea, and together they all go out in the dark, Sophie still in her nightdress. The scene of the three of them enjoying their sausages, chips and ice cream together epitomises the safety and security of those early years in a loving home.
No work of literature is immune to scholarly analysis, and there have been those who seek to impose a darker reading on this story, making links to Judith Kerr’s childhood experiences of fleeing Nazi Germany. Judith Kerr herself said she never intended any double meaning to the story, and it was simply meant to be a story about a tiger for her own little girl. Personally, I prefer to think of it as an exploration of that world of early childhood that is separate from the dark reality of the adult world, and the simple joy that can be found in those long afternoons at home. Getting to reread this wonderful story with my own little ones allows me to revisit this world and relive its magic, even if only briefly.
The first reason why I think every child is enchanted with this book has to be the visual appeal. The drawings are stunning, especially the use of colour. If I close my eyes, I can see the orange fur of the tiger, the purple of Sophie’s dress, the red icing on the cake and the beautiful street scene in the dark at the end. You can see the loving detail that has gone into every single image, and this is what makes the book live and breathe.
The second is the charming story that the book tells. The visit from the tiger who eats all the food is funny and exciting for a young child, and a figure that could be threatening suddenly becomes a figure of fun and joy. Rather than hurting anyone, the tiger is simply greedy for food and drink. As an adult, it is easier to empathise with Sophie’s mummy, as we have probably all shared the experience of an unwanted visitor who does not bring anything, consumes all the food and drink and then leaves! But as a child, we share Sophie’s wonder at this exotic creature, safely contained within the home environment where his only dangerous habits are eating all the sandwiches and drinking all the tea.
Besides the actual visit from the tiger himself, the book captures the essence of early childhood, when the days can be filled with play, trips to the park and tea parties with mummy. New experiences are a joy, not a threat. One of the parts that stands out the most is when Daddy returns from work, to discover a tiger has eaten all his supper and drunk his beer. Daddy suggests a visit to the cafe for tea, and together they all go out in the dark, Sophie still in her nightdress. The scene of the three of them enjoying their sausages, chips and ice cream together epitomises the safety and security of those early years in a loving home.
No work of literature is immune to scholarly analysis, and there have been those who seek to impose a darker reading on this story, making links to Judith Kerr’s childhood experiences of fleeing Nazi Germany. Judith Kerr herself said she never intended any double meaning to the story, and it was simply meant to be a story about a tiger for her own little girl. Personally, I prefer to think of it as an exploration of that world of early childhood that is separate from the dark reality of the adult world, and the simple joy that can be found in those long afternoons at home. Getting to reread this wonderful story with my own little ones allows me to revisit this world and relive its magic, even if only briefly.
Now altogether, "Hey tiger..."
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