The Tiger Rising

All too often Children's books are filled with unoriginal, stock plots and characters who fulfill a role rather than instill a purpose or inspire their readers. The Tiger Rising is just the opposite. Dicamillo is an exquisite writer, who is able to probe and understand the thoughts of young readers and the problems they face.

The Tiger Rising is a book for all ages. The main character, Rob Horton, is an outcast at school, his mother has died, and he lives in a hotel, in Florida, with his father. One day he stumbles upon a tiger locked in a cage in the forest behind is motel. He later befriends a girl named sistine, who is in dire need of friendship, as is Rob, and the two are faced with many life problems throughout the story.

This is a story which strikes the very human condition of freedom, loss, hope, and most importantly friendship. Dicamillo is on top of her game with a story which will ring true to everyone who reads it.

This book totally engrossed my students. I read this short story aloud in five days; the children wouldn't let me put the book down. Not only did they listen to the story, but the students were quick to make predictions, compare this novel to Because of Winn Dixie and the craft of Cynthia Rylant. They loved the story, character, plot and narration. Of course, I read this book at the end of the year, and after we had read Because of Winn Dixie and The Van Gogh Cafe.

The Tiger Rising is a really GREAT book!!!! It's about this boy named Rob Horton who's mother died and now he and his dad live in a hotel called The Kentucky Star, even though the setting is in Florida. Rob and his father have no phone and eat Macaroni & Cheese every night. Rob has a diease in his legs that make them itch like CRAZY!!! Rob's only real friend isn't even a kid. The maid of the hotel, Willie May, is always telling Rob that the problem with his legs is that Rob never lets the saddness come out. She says it stays down at the bottom of him, down by his legs, and never gives it a chance to come out. Rob never cries. Ever since his mother died, Rob has never cried. He cried at his mother's funeral, but his father told him to suck it up, that there was no need in crying, that crying was for sissies. Ever since that unforgettable moment on that unforgettable day, Rob has imagined himself as a suitcase, locked up tight, never letting anything get out.
Rob gets picked on at school. The 2 bullies call hum "Diease Boy" and "Cootie Kid". He never stands up to them though. He just lets them tease him until they get tired and eventually leave. But one day a new girl gets on the bus. She was wearing a pink and frilly dress. No one at Rob's school wears pink and frilly dresses. When Rob next sees Sistine (the girl) her dress has a hint of blood on it, a torn shoulder puff, and a girl with a black eye and a few bruises wearing it.
Sitting on the bus after school that day, Sistine plops down next to Rob. She tells Rob about her father who is supposed to come and get her in a couple if weeks. She says she hates it in Florida. She says she hates her mother too. Then she notices Rob's legs. She asks Rob if it is contagious and, without waiting for a reply, rubs her hands violently up and down Rob's legs. Rob finally works up enogh courage to open his suitcase up a little peep and tell Sistine about the tiger he found caged up earlier that day. Sistine says they HAVE to set it free no sooner had the words come out of Rob's mouth. He's scared to lrt the tiger free because he knows it owned by the owner of the hotel and Rob doesn't want his dad to lose his job as all-around good-guy and handy man. Should Rob let the tiger go, in hopes of finding a new friend? Or stay a coward all his life?

I think the book, The Tiger Rising, should get five stars because it is an interesting book. It was about two kids named Rob and Sistine. Rob had a disease. The principal thought Rob's disease was contagious. He would have to stay home for a few days and have it heal up. The only problem is that his legs wouldn't heal up.
In order to avoid school, he went into the woods hoping he would get lost or eaten by a bear, that's when he found the tiger in a cage by an abandoned gas station. He told his friend, Sistine, about it. That's when the real story begins. So, when you buy this book and start reading it, you'll never want to set this book down until your done reading it.

In the book The Tiger Rising a boy named Rob Horton is just getting adapted to the new changes that has been happening in his life. Rob has been lonely ever since he has moved to a new town and when his mom pasted away. All Rob really wants is a friend or two, but instead he keeps getting bullied.
I really liked this book because it was really about his friendship with a girl named Sistine Bailey. When Rob made a friend, Sistine was a good friend because they were always going on adventures and doing other things.
The author of this book wrote it with great detail. There is so much detail that it feels like I am with the characters. That is why detail is important in this book. By having detail it makes the characters come to life.
I recommend this book because it is every thing I said, and more. It has good friendships,adventures, great detail, and much more.