TIGRESS

A tigress raises two cubs in this brief, poetic picture book that lends itself equally well to a read-aloud or independent reading. Sensuous present-tense text presents the tigress as mother, hunter, and, above all, force of nature. Chapman’s bright, full-bleed acrylics make the most of the text, lush spreads giving equal weight to beauty and savagery (a stop-motion kill is most effective), the primary type set against faint paisley patterns that move in and out of the jungle background. Italicized snippets provide hard facts that supplement the more emotive narrative: “[The cubs] are too small to walk far, so the tigress uses tooth power” is glossed by, “Tiger cubs have loose skin on their necks, which makes them easy to lift.” The whole takes itself seriously as nonfiction, an index (with a little lesson in how to use it) providing access to the paged text that precedes it. A brief author’s note gives a few more facts about tigers and their current endangered status today, and it is, refreshingly, as easy for primary graders to read as the main narrative. A lovely, solid package. (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-8)