Tiger, Tiger

This is a youth book. I've been teaching 7th grade Language Arts this school year, and I wanted to coordinate their literature curriculum with their social studies curriculum, so they would have an interdisciplinary literature experience.Seventh graders here are supposed to study ancient civilizations from ancient Egypt up through Roman empire and medieval Europe. I must have read 25 different youth books to come up with the ones I chose. I wanted books that are historically accurate, while entertaining enough to keep a 7th grader engaged in learning.This book gives a picture of life in ancient Rome that is painfully accurate, but it is not appropriate for elementary school age children. They are not old enough to handle the hard facts of life in ancient Rome(e.g., people thrown to the lions when accused of a crime), just as they don't understand the Holocaust.The story is about twin tiger cubs captured in the wild, and brought to Caesar's palace. One is neutered, tamed and becomes the pet of Caesar's daughter. Tame Boots wears soft leather boots to cover his claws, and is in the constant care of a trainer who was hired to make sure that he will never harm anyone. His twin is taken to the dungeons of the Colosseum where he is bullied, tormented and starved to make him a killer, in preparation for his part in the "entertainment" of the day -- bloody battles to the death between wild animals and condemned prisoners or armed gladiators.The two tiger brothers do not see each other again until the day a childish prank causes gentle Boots and his trainer to face Boots' wild brother in a fight to the death in the arena.A strong reason for my choice of the book is a parallel story of the young princess (Caesar's daughter) who falls in love from afar with the young man who is her tiger's trainer. He loves her, too, from afar, but both of them recognize their own place in the society of the time and never step out of bounds.I think that books that show young lovers restraining their impulses are few and far between, and I like to support that type of perspective in a youth book.Plenty of both excitement and drama for the 7th to 9th grade student. Reluctant readers and others can enjoy this book on CD.

Teaching ancient history to 6th graders can be a challenge given that ancient history to them was last week!!! I was looking for a novel to go along with our studies -- this book was recommended by our librarian. I could not put it down but was a bit hesitant to expose my 6th graders to the brutality -- however, together in class we read the book -- let me tell you: my students loved, loved, loved the book. I got lots of thanks from both parents and my students for bringing this book to the classroom! My thanks go out to Shelby for recommending it.

Simple but well-written, an intriguing plot. It’s a unique story that stays with you for a long time, even if it is not the most intricate or complex story.

My daughter loves this story and recommended it to me. A wonderful story. Both you and your kid should read it and then discuss it together.

My son had to read this in ELA class. His only comment was that he wished it was longer! He wanted more! Which is great!

Love this book!! It is a story of romance and if loss. It has a sad ending but it is still a great read!😊

My daughter had to read it for school, but I enjoyed it more than she did! Great storming telling, vivid characters and riveting story.

Ariana the UK and many more than to kindle is a good idea that the government of India list is the UK's leading to kindle is a good idea

This was ordered for my 7 year old as it was the schools choice for that half terms literacy. It has very gruesome in parts with strong themes, which we deemed not suitable for that age group. I think it was a poor choice for the school, the recommended age is 9 years, but I think even that’s a little young for some. All kids are different, but this wasn’t right for mine. Other reviewers had similar reservations and thank you for leaving the reviews, as it helped me and the mums at our school look into it before our kids covered it at school. I haven’t had a chance to read the story yet, but will do, so apologies as this is not so much a review on the book as it is the age range.

Started to read this story to a Year 3 class (aged 7-8) as our topic was The Romans. This book ended up being slightly too old for them, and so we stopped reading it about half way through. But I took it home so I could finished it. And I loved it!Not only do you get a wealth of knowledge of life in Ancient Rome, you get a lovely story about friendship, honour and love.The story of the tiger brothers separation, one to be a pampered pet and the other trained for the Games, shows how life was like for the rich and poor.The princess, Aurelia, is a strong character, and it is nice to read how she stood up for what she believes in, especially as it was very hard for women to be heard and to be powerful. The character I was most interested in was Marcus, a friend of the princess. He started out as a spoilt rich boy who was forced to 'play' with the princess, but through the story he learnt many lessons and became a better person for it.All in all, if you would like a information-rich story about this period that also deals with friendship and the ethical idea of the Games, then if would be brilliant for you.

This is an absolutely brilliant book for an understanding on the viewpoint of an animal in Rome at the time of the gladiators. It gives a perspective that is rarely seen in books! Beautifully written. I would recommend for 10 year olds and above.

Bought this for fans in my year five class of the Indian in the cupboard. I would imagine it is probably intended for a slightly older audience though as it is a bit gruesome in places and there is even a romantic sub plot. Enjoyed it immensely as an adult elder though.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. Love the setting of Ancient Rome and the Colosseum is brought to life. It's dramatic, exciting and gripping. There are some brutal scenes but history becomes real. A great read.