Mother to Tigers

By George Ella Lyon

You are a Bengal tiger cub, one of three -- Dacca, Rajpur, Raniganj -- abandoned by your mother. You are so cold and thin that someone with kind hands puts you on a heating pad and sits by you for hours, moistening your mouth with milk. When you give a weak cry and look up, there is a human face almost crying too. Your new mother is Helen Delaney Martini, who has already raised a lion cub in her New York apartment. Tigers in the bathtub will be no problem for her and her husband, Fred. This remarkable book -- strikingly striped as tigers are, sympathetically spoken as any child could wish -- tells the story of Helen Martini, founder of the Bronx Zoo's animal nursery in 1944 and its first woman zookeeper

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 068984221X
• ISBN13: 9780689842214
• Release Date: March 2003
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.93 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 11.3" x 8.7"
• Age Range: 5 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Kindergarten to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

Mother to Tigers - George Ella Lyon

This is the story of Helen Martini, the first woman zookeeper. Helen and her husband (an employee of the Bronx Zoo), took in tiger cubs to care for them. This led to Helen opening the first animal nursery in a zoo. She is credited with raising 27 cubs, when no cubs had successfully been raised in a zoo before. This book is easy for students to connect with, because children of all ages have prior knowledge with animals and zoos. The author's illustrations depict animals bringing joy and color to the character's lives to fill the void of their not being able to have children. This book would be a great addition to a theme unit on women's history.

Cute Book

I just read this book yesterday. I thought it was both cute and interesting. I have always found that books involving people caring for animals in trouble are good and this one is great for younger kids.

Heartwarming and inspiring

Warmly written, based on fact, beautiful art, great for girls

Frostburg State Univ.'s Children's Literature Centre

This remarkable book tells the story of Helen Martini, founder of the Bronx Zoo's animal nursery in 1944 and its first woman zookeeper. Helen and her husband, Fred really wanted children. They lost their first child and Helen couldn't have any more. They began to fill their lives with pets. Fred found a job in the Bronx Zoo. He often took home some baby tigers and Helen cared for them just like she would care for a human baby. This lead to her setting up a nursery at the zoo to care for lots of baby animals. This story will be adored by both children and adults.