The Day Tiger Rose Said Goodbye

After doing one of my book reviews and discovering the author Jane Yolen, an author of a previous book that I reviewed, I just had to find more of her books. The book that I found and am going to do a book review on is one of her books titled The Day Tiger Rose Said Goodbye, it is illustrated by Jim LaMarche. This is a really sad book that tells a story about a cat who says goodbye to everything and everyone that she knows and loves before her passing. This book is would be classified as an animal fantasy book. Characteristics that this book includes that puts it in this genre is the human like qualities and emotions that are given to the animal. That is a key characteristic that exist in an animal fantasy book (Cullian et al., 2010).

The pictures of this book are subtle, with soft soothing colors and lines that are smooth which convey peace and tranquility. The illustrations are able to show the reader the cat as she goes from people to animals to different things in nature such as trees and flowers and says her goodbyes. Most of the pictures are on the opposite page of the text. This shows the reader that the illustrations are just as important as the text. The combination of the actual picture, the technique used, and the colors that the illustrator used, come together to help the reader understand that this is not a sad time in the cat’s life, but a peaceful time that should be celebrated.

The setting of this book is not really described, as it is not a key element in the story. The main (and only) character in this story is the cat named Tiger Rose, who knows it is her time to pass. She isn’t given much qualities, however she is depicted as a cat who is grateful for the life she has had; however, she is accepting of the fact that it is time to leave her old and tired body. Although the cat is not given too much characterization, readers are still able to connect with her through animals that they may have had who have also passed away.

 A good reader response question for this book is to have children answer this question: Has there ever been a time where you or someone you know experience a passing of a pet? What were your thoughts after you found out about their passing? Do you feel different about it now that you have read this book, why or why not? This reader response question provides children with an opportunity to review and reflect their feelings to an unavoidable fact of life that everyone will experience. An activity that could be used with this book is to have children draw a picture of people and things in their life that are important to them. They can then share write a poem to these people about why mean so much to them. The teacher can then hang the drawings and poems on the wall to be displayed for everyone or allow them to take it home to share with their parents.  

This book really stood out to me because I have ever encountered a children’s book that not only talks about death, but does it in a way to is peaceful. It can help children understand that death is natural, and something that should not be feared because the animal/person still lives within the earth and through their loved ones. Death is not an easy topic to discuss, however, with this book it can serve as a good ice breaker to get the discussion going.

Cullian, B., Galda, L., Sipe, L. (2010). Literature and the child. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

LaMarche, J. & Yolen, J. (2011). The day tiger rose said goodbye. Random House Children’s Books: New York, NY.