Review of The shining tiger

BLURB:

Raja and Baja set off on a dangerous journey to find the famous shining tiger. Days go by, and there’s no sign of it – in fact, nobody in the villages they visit is even sure it exists! But deep in the hearts of two daring boys is the conviction that the shining tiger is somewhere in the mountains – and it’s up to them to find it!

MY REVIEW:

The book starts with an afternoon story telling session between a grandmother and grandson Meer. The boy looks engrossed when grandma starts narrating the story of “the Shining Tiger”.

The shining tiger as the grandma says is a tale that is being passed on by villages generations after generations. But there is no record as such that any person has seen it.

The story goes about two young orphan boys Raja and Baja. They stay in a tree house in the village and play with the kids. They swim in rivers, climb trees and have an interesting livelihood. Meer looks amazed when his grandma narrates the plot. She dozes off in between too.

The boys realize that the children in the village play games in an unfair manner and get them accused for crimes which they didn’t do. So they decide to move on to the neighboring village. They pack their mats, food, water and set out on the quest to find new friends and a home.

They come across a small pond, decide to take a dip and cook food when the elder kids chase them away. They move further and reach a village with empty houses. They enjoy the freedom, cook and eat. At dark, they overhear two men talking about the shining tiger, which is when they decide to go on a quest to find it.

Did they find the shining tiger, meet it, what do the villagers say when the boys narrate their tale of meeting the shining tiger is the rest of the story? When the story of Raja and Baja ends, Meer wants to learn to climb trees; so he seeks his dad help. When they have a casual talk about making friends the dad comes to know that Meer complains of not having a friend near at home.

When he teaches Meer how to climb they see another boy seated on the trunk and they get introduced. Meer asks the boy if he knows the story of ‘The shining Tiger’ and when the boy nods that he doesn’t know, Meer starts narrating the story and it goes on.

The writing style is simple and the illustrations are very thoughtful and so real. Nothing looks very clichéd and would definitely be liked by kids. A wonderful read in deed.

The font in the book is bold and readable. Overall it’s a good read for kids between 6-12.

BOOK DETAILS: