Sugar Cookie Day

A Tiger Tail: (Or What Happened to Anya on Her First Day of School)
Written and Illustrated by Mike Boldt
Simon and Schuster BYR 7/05/2016
978-1-4814-4885-7
40 pages   Ages 4—8

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“The first day of school
can be a little scary.
“For Anya, maybe a bit
more so.”
[inside jacket]

“From the creative mind of rising star Mike Boldt comes a hilarious and original tale about overcoming back-to-school jitters, making new friends, and taking things in stride.

“Anya wakes up to discover that she has grown a tiger tail. Yes, a striped tiger tail. It also happens to be the first day of school. What will the other kids think? Are girls with tiger tails even allowed to go to school?!

“Anya is about to find out.” [publisher]

Review
Anya has a tiger tail. Not the kind you get at the zoo gift shop and hang off the end of your bike. No, Anya has grown a tiger’s tail, right where one should grow—if little girls were to grow tiger tails. The bigger problem is this: today is the first day of school—real school, not kindergarten. The kind with desks, books, and teachers that don’t make you take a nap. What about the kids? What would they say about a classmate with a tiger tail?

Anya decides she needs to do something. She tries to pull it off, and with little brother’s help, tries to squish it. The tiger tail is just not coming off. Anya, now resigned to her fate, tries to get out of school. Mom laughs, and then unknowingly gives her daughter an idea; but dad, being a good dad, messes it up.

As Anya considers running away—for life in a circus—the school bus unloads. Kids are about to see Anya’s tail. Dozens of kids excitedly hurry into school. One boy hangs back, hidden in the book he is reading. Then, with one miss-step . . .

A Tiger Tail takes on the first day of school jitters, and then amplifies it with a tiger tail on poor Anya. Boldt created an original back-to-school tale for kids and their parents. The story actually begins before the title page, an artistic prologue, which ends with a laugh-out-loud title page. Boldt is not finished. He actually beats the climax of the title page with a story parents and their children will love.

The digital illustrations give readers an orange-haired mop-top, with beautiful green eyes. Anya is spunky, imaginative, and creative. Anya listens to her parents, turning their remarks into solutions. I love how Boldt keeps Anya’s situation on the tiger tail and nothing else. When Anya turns her mother’s remark into a suggestion, her father does not punish. Instead, he flows with the story, keeping Anya moving forward.

“’The kids are going to love your sense of humor. Now hurry or you’ll miss the bus.’” (Said mom to Anya)
.          .That was another good idea. (Anya deliberately misses the bus.)
“’What a special treat’ said her dad. ‘Now I get to drive you to school on your first day.’”

You can hear Anya groan, though Boldt ( I Don’t Want to Be a Frog), does not have Anya groaning. Instead, she gives dad a strange half-smile. Dad, is glowing, really enjoying this time with Anya. It is difficult to dislike any of the characters in Boldt’s Tiger Tail. Even the side characters are full of delight and surprises.

Between the bright and humorous illustrations, the charming characters—spend some time with the class picture—and an intrusive tigers tail attached to a bright, imaginative, feisty young girl, A Tiger’s Tail will find its way into many hearts and many kindergarten and first grade class library bookshelves. I suspect local zoos and novelty shops will need extra supplies of tiger tails, child size, before summer ends.

A TIGER TAIL (OR WHAT HAPPENED TO ANYA ON HER FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL). Text and illustrations copyright © 2016 by Mike Boldt. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, New York, NY.

Amazon—Indie Books—Apple Books—Simon and Schuster BYR

Find A TIGER TAIL on Goodreads HERE.
Take a Look Inside A Tiger Tail HERE.

Mike Boldt:  http://mikeboldt.ca/
Follow on Twitter          @MikeBoldt

Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers: http://www.simonandschuster.com/kids
Follow on Twitter           @SimonKIDS

Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers is an imprint of Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing Division.

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Reprinted with permission from A TIGER TAIL © 2016 by Mike Boldt, Simon and Schuster BYR, an imprint of Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing Division, Illustrations © 2016 by Mike Boldt.

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Copyright © 2016 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved

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A Tiger Tail (or What Happened to Anya on Her First Day of School)
Written and Illustrated by Mike Boldt
Simon and Schuster BYR 7/05/2016
9781481448857