A Tiger Called Tomás

This is 4th edition of a wonderful Charlotte Zolotow story, and it is grand!!!!

I like this book but I don't like this book. Thomas is the new kid in town. He spends his days sitting on the stoop watching others because he is too afraid no one will like him. On Halloween he can put on a mask and go out on the town, but it turns out everyone knows who is is. The idea of the

Show More

story is that you just need to try, and that you can not be afraid of not making friends. If you never try, you never have. But as someone who moved a lot, why didn’t he meet the kids in school? If he is homeschooled, why didn’t mom try a playgroup. Too many unanswered questions for this Navy Brat reader.

Show Less

This book was originally published in 1963. It has been reissued a few times changing the illustrations, thus changing the ethnicity of the main character. This presentation is of a small Latino boy. Some of the text was changed to add some Spanish words, otherwise it is the same. The illustrations

Show More

in this version are wonderful. They are large, colourful and show a sweet boy who is shy and afraid to venture out and meet new people because he worries they will not like him.

Tomás moves into a brand new neighbourhood and because of his shyness is afraid to step off of his front stoop to meet any of the local people. Day after day he is a silent observer of people and pets passing by and their activities. His sweet mamá keeps telling him over and over that of course everyone will like him but Tomás won't budge from his stoop. When Hallowe'en approaches, his wise mamá buys him a tiger costume complete with a mask. Tomás is confident to go out trick or treating because he is sure no one will recognize him. Of course all the neighbours recognize him and at the end of the night, he has new friends and is not afraid to go off the stoop.

This is a great story! I think any child who has moved to a new neighborhood will appreciate it. It does not diminish the feelings Tomás has, but helps him to become more self-assured. If you read the back cover you will see that the goal of the story was to see the child for who they are, not the colour of their skin or their ethnicity. A wonderful story to be in any school library. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley.

Show Less