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The Tiger Rising
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The Tiger Rising
Unavailable
The Tiger Rising
Audiobook2 hours

The Tiger Rising

Written by Kate DiCamillo

Narrated by Dylan Baker

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

()

Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

From the best-selling author of Because of Winn-Dixie comes the moving story of an eleven-year-old-boy, Rob Horton, who finds a caged tiger in the woods behind the hotel where he lives with his father. With the help of his new friend, Sistine Bailey, Rob must decide what to do with his discovery and at the same time come to terms with his past.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateApr 11, 2006
ISBN9780307284242
Unavailable
The Tiger Rising
Author

Kate DiCamillo

Kate DiCamillo is the acclaimed author of many books for young readers, including The Tale of Despereaux, winner of the Newbery Medal; Because of Winn-Dixie, a Newbery Honor Book; and The Tiger Rising, a National Book Award finalist. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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Reviews for The Tiger Rising

Rating: 3.7138727543352603 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

519 ratings46 reviews

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Rob has a list of things he doesn’t want to think about: his mother, the rash on his legs and the bullies on the school bus. But then he discovers a caged tiger in the woods and a new girl gets on the bus.For a short book, it really packs a punch -- I wasn’t expecting it to be so achingly sad! But I liked the prose, I liked that his friendship with Sistine Bailey was not easy and how, underneath the grief, it’s obvious how much his father loves him.Rob had a way of not-thinking about things. He imagined himself as a suitcase that was too full, like the one he had packed when they left Jacksonville after the funeral. He made all his feelings go inside the suitcase: he stuffed them in tight and then sat on the suitcase and locked it shut. That was the way he not-thought about things. Sometimes it was hard to keep the suitcase shut. But now he had something to put on top of it. The tiger. [...] Rob imagined the tiger on top of his suitcase, blinking his golden eyes, sitting proud and strong, unaffected by all the not-thoughts straining to come out.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Rob Horton and his father moved to another town after his mother died to escape everything that reminded them of her. They live in a motel where his father works. At school Rob is bullied, and miserable.As the book opens, Rob discovers a tiger in a cage near the motel. The same morning, a new girl comes to school: Sistine. She is angry at the world and doesn't want to be in the school any more than Rob does.They develop a friendship, and each of them face the things that haunt them, as they debate and decide the question that comes to obsess them. Should they set the tiger free?Published as a short YA novel, the story moves like a brilliantly written short story. There are no sub-plots, and no extraneous characters. Every person, and everything that happens moves the story forward.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The book The Tiger Rising is good. It is slow at certain parts, but other than that it was good. The Tiger Rising was also adventurous and at certain parts it was somewhat sketchy. The book The Tiger Rising is a National Book Award Finalists. That means it was voted best at that time. The main characters in The Tiger Rising are Sistine and Rob. Sistine is my favorite character because she is fierce girl that isn't afraid of "anyone" or "anything". Rob on the other hand is a little "weaker" and doesn't show courage in most parts. Kate DiCamillo is one of my favorite authors because she writes so many amazing, interesting, and adventurous novels. When I read her other books, all I want to do is just keep reading. Even when there are slow parts, but they are mostly quick. The Tiger Rising is a book that I would only suggest to people that like any type of book whether it is slow or fast.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    In this book there is a boy named Rob. He has dots/ lumps on his legs and wears shorts and a T-shirt. In the beginning Rob goes walking in the forest before school and finds a tiger. A new girl, named Sistine gets on the bus to school. Rob and Sistine have many sad and great times throughout the whole book. I like the book because it has life lessons and fantasy. I recommend this to anyone anywhere - if they have this book in different languages.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Tiger Rising is an alsome book!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I enjoyed the possibilities of this story. I am sorry this is my first introduction to the author as this story did not feel fully developed. Story of a boys grief and journey to healing. The grief in this story is loss of a parent figure. Mother in case of the boy and for the girl it is the father or "family" unit. Of course, the poem by Blake Tyger, Tyger is referenced in the story and is contrasted with The Lamb. The struggle here for the two children is a struggle to understand and accept their current situations and to let the sadness out and to do something about the anger.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Summary: Rob lives at the Kentucky Star Motel in Florida. He is kicked out of school because of the rash that is all over his legs. Being suspended from school is a relief for Rob, as he has been mercilessly bullied on the bus and at school. His only regret, is that he's just met the new girl, Sistine, who is pretty on the outside, but tough as nails. Sistine will not bow under the brutality of her bullies. Rob finds a way to tell Sistine about his secret. He has found a tiger in a cage out in the woods behind the Kentucky Star Motel. Sistine is insistent on giving the tiger its freedom, but Rob isn't so sure. Rob lives with his sad and distant father who has recently been widowed and won't allow Rob to talk about his mom. He is being bullied by the Motel owner, and he doesn't know how to open up or be a friend to Sistine. This book has a tear-jerker ending, but brings fulfillment and hope at the same time. Personal Response: This book was deep. I was instantly emotionally invested in the characters, and I think that Kate DiCamillo's strength is in developing her characters, and bringing that connection between the reader and the characters. I wanted the best for this poor and emotionally disconnected boy. I wanted a happy ending for him, because no happy ending seemed possible. I was satisfied with the ending because, it was "real" and not a perfect fairytale like ending. Curriculum Connection: Because this book is only 119 pages, it could easily be used for a bookclub or small group during school. The themes of bullying and loss are both current topics that would help students connect with their own lives. Being in a lower income Title 1 school, I think that a lot of our 4th-6th grade students would be able to engage in meaningful discussions regarding this book. It also has good lessons on friendship, and how sometimes our closest friends are not our own age, but sometimes our closest friends can be much older and wiser than us. As a librarian, I will simply continue to recommend this book.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Based upon my read of Because of Winn Dixie,I decided to give this book a try, because I like how this author writes. I found most of this book was no exception to my previous estimation of her prose...but I was a little "put-off" by the ending. Worth a read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I liked that there weren't any slow parts. I liked how the girl and the boy became friends.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Like her earlier work, Because of Winn Dixie, which was awarded a Newbery Honor in 2001, this slim children's novel is set in Florida, and follows the story of a young person coping with an absent mother and a distant father. In The Tiger Rising, Rob Horton, still reeling from the death of his mother, and recently moved to a new town, is confronted with bullying at his new school. His father, also deeply bereaved, has made it very clear that Rob is not to express his grief, not to cry. Then two extraordinary things happen: Rob comes across a caged tiger in the woods near the hotel where he is living, and he meets a feisty new girl, Sistine (named for the chapel), who doesn't believe in reserve. Will Rob free the tiger, as Sistine insists they must... and if he does, what will happen?A moving book, one which chronicles one boy's journey from silent grief through cathartic rage, and then his entry into gradual healing, The Tiger Rising reminded me (as already noted) of Because of Winn Dixie. In that other work, the adoption of a stray dog leads to an opening of the relationship between a child and her father. Here, the finding and eventual killing of a tiger leads to a moment of dramatic confrontation, in which Rob finally expresses himself to his father, opening the floodgates of both of their griefs. Although a brief book, I liked the characterization here. I like that Rob's father is depicted as deeply flawed - he hits Rob (only once that the narrative reveals), and doesn't really know how to take care of him - but also deeply loving. I also liked the character of Willie May, whose humor and humanity come across very well. Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories about grief, family, and friendship.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Too short - I wanted more exploration of the themes and characters. My 14 yo son loved it also.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I absolutely loved this book. My favorite part about it was the symbolism and how it really drives the story. I really enjoyed the interaction between Sistine and Rob and the ways that their complete opposite natures leads them to be the best of friends. This is a moving story that really gives the reader a heavy heart, while teaching important lessons about the way to deal with loss, as if it were a wild animal in a cage. I think that too often in children's books, the symbolism only has one clear meaning, however, I found that the symbolism in this book was very open to interpretation, especially the tiger. I also love that the tiger represents loss for both Sistine and Rob, but in very different ways. This book is very complex and up to interpretation which would be great to prepare students for middle school. I really want to teach this book in my classroom someday.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Like too many young adult books, this one is heavy with sorrow and meaning and lots of stuff to overcome. Also much to think about and discuss.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    "The Tiger Rising" follows the story of a young boy, Rob, who lost his mom to cancer and moved to a new "home" (motel) in Florida with his dad. After some time being in Florida he is the elementary school victim of two bullies and a boy with no friends. One day a young girl, Sistine, arrives new to the town with major confidence. Ever since Rob's mom died he had kept his "suitcase" of happiness and feeling emotions in his heart closed. One day Rob explores the forest and finds a tiger living in a locked cage. Rob shows his new friend Sistine and later is given the keys by the motel owner to feed the tiger. Sistine convinces Rob to set the tiger free and Rob's father kills the tiger thinking it was going to harm him or Rob. Throughout the book and throughout Sistine's friendship Rob's "suitcase" begins to open and he is set free from the pain he had locked away in his heart about his mom. This book is a realistic fiction novel.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    short, beautifully written, and extremely teachable
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    In this middle grade classic, Rob Horton, 12, has moved with his dad to Lister, Florida following the death of his mom six months earlier. They temporarily live at the Kentucky Star Motel, where Rob’s dad does maintenance work.Sixth grade is difficult for Rob. Besides (and related to) his emotional state, he has suffered from a bad rash on his legs for the past six months. That and his outsider status (as demonstrated by his living in Florida but at the “Kentucky Star Motel”) leads the other kids to shun him, and he is constantly bullied by two brothers, the Threemongers.One day another new student arrives, Sistine Bailey, and she too is the object of derision. She is full of anger over the abandonment of her father; she vehemently insists he will be back in a week to get her.Rob and Sistine form a natural alliance, especially after Rob tells Sistine his biggest secret: there is a tiger in a cage in back of the motel. The proprietor is paying Rob extra to go feed the tiger every day.The housekeeper of the motel, Willie May, a kind of wise woman/mother figure, tells Rob he has the rash because he is “keeping all that sadness down low, in your legs.” He needs, she advises him, to let it “get up to your heart, where it belongs.” But Rob keeps all his negative emotions in a metaphorical suitcase that he locked shut and refused to open.Willie May has words of wisdom for Sistine as well:“..you all full of anger, got it snapping out of you like lightning. . . . I got some advice for you. I already gave this boy some advice. You ready for yours? . . . This is it: Ain’t nobody going to come and rescue you. . . You got to rescue yourself.”Both of the kids have to free themselves, and in determining to free the tiger, they symbolically opt to rid themselves of all that has been caging them.If the book ended there, it would have made more obvious sense, but would not have been, perhaps, entirely true to life. DiCamillo adds a coda that suggests the ambiguity, complexity, and often unfair outcome of much of life.Evaluation: DiCamillo is a prize-winning author; this book, for example, was a finalist for the National Book Award. She has served as the National Ambassador for Young people’s Literature, and as "Time Magazine" stated, “understands that children can handle the tough stuff in fiction….” But the message of this story may be opaque to some kids; it would therefore make an excellent book for discussion in schools.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Powerful realistic fiction that pulls at your heart strings. Strong characterization and an interesting setting. Great for intermediate-middle school students. I love using this book as a read aloud for the students in my classroom. Builds empathy and compassion for others.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book hits some heavy issues from the first page. A young boy has lost his mother. His father is cold and distant. They move from their home state to live in a motel in Florida. He’s being bullied by his fellow sixth grade classmates. He meets a girl named Sistine who becomes his only friend. DiCamillo is a talented author and in this book she tackles the danger of ignoring your grief and sorrow. When we ignore our hurt or bury it, it never goes away. BOTTOM LINE: I enjoyed this one, but if I was giving it to a younger audience I would make sure I followed the reading with a discussion of the issues. “Ain’t nobody going to come and rescue you. You got to rescue yourself.” “Rob realized why he liked Sistine so much. He liked her because when she saw something beautiful, the sound of her voice changed.”
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book I always use as a Read Aloud with my reading unit titled, Bringing Characters to Meaning. There is so much happening in this book with character development and I use each chapter to model the teaching point from the mini lesson. DiCamillo does an extraordinary job of showing the reader how the character is feeling, and all along keeping suspense and excitement. Symbols, metaphors, and much inferring is required to thoroughly and thoughtfully comprehend this text. It is a guided reading level S, so it is perfect for fourth grade and the complex bands of texts they will be encountering.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This was a nice, quick audiobook for my kids and me to listen to on the way to and from the doctor's office this past week. (That sounds more ominous than it is. It was just an annual checkup at a doctor's office that's a good distance away along a route that's very trafficky. Not that most people reading this review care much about the details of our physical health, but I do have family members who read these reviews sometimes and I don't want to scare anyone. So, don't worry, Mom...we're all well for the moment, except for your grandson who has a runny nose which he keeps wiping on my shirt whenever he gives me a hug.)

    Anyway, this book was good. The chapters were too short for my taste---we'd just start getting a good head of steam and the chapter would end---but the opening was excellent and the interactions between the characters seemed genuine and only slightly melodramatic. And as a homeschooler, I have a perverse affinity for any book that makes conventional school look awful. Helps keep my kids in line.

    One big problem I had, though, and this might be a spoiler so look away if you don't want even a bit of spoiling:

    As far as I can tell, it's illegal in Florida for a private citizen to keep any species of big cat, but no one bothered to suggest calling the authorities and having the tiger put into a zoo. (Or forcing the owner to relocate to Alabama.) I suppose that wouldn't have been as satisfying an ending. Kind of like when my kids learned about the bear that was poached here in Massachusetts a year or so ago, and the story turned out to be this epic tale of law enforcement jurisdiction, government bureaucracy, and forensic science. It was all interesting, but not in an exciting way. Had it not involved the kids dressing up in bear costumes and lab coats and wielding fake guns, I'm not sure it would have held their attention.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book is about a boy who finds a Tiger in the woods locked up in a cage. He also meets a girl too. She shows him how Tigers and memories can't be locked up. The start becoming having a great bond together and learn more secrets. The boy's mother died of cancer and he is with his father. He goes through his life like a sleepwalker. He takes of the responsibility of taking care of the tiger.I like this book when I read it. I felt like I was there as Rob. Rob is the boy in the story. I love tigers, so when I read this I got into it deeply. I was hoping that nothing bad would happen to the tiger. I felt bad for Rob when he was going through hard times. I liked how the girl halped him cope with stress.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A nice story. Very weird to have a tiger in the woods locked up. Well written and very nice. Not the normal amount of death and gore that plagues most middle readers. The main character has a skin condition but the tragic meter is not too far off the scale. His mother is of course deaad, but that happened before the story begins.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The same sort of "magic" prose that she uses in "Because of Winn-Dixie" but here the effect is somewhat less. Powerful book for boys, though. The point is the metaphoric journey of masculinity, and so the realism suffers, but I don't think that mars the readers experience. This would make a fantastic bibliotherapy book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The Tiger Rising is the story of two very sad and broken children, and how they are saved by a tiger, but not at all in the way you would expect. This story broke my heart. There's something about the way DiCamillo writes that touches my deepest emotions. I don't know if I can explain how or why, but it's as if I feel the stories, instead of reading them. It's some strange retro-childhood cathartic experience that makes me want to cry myself clean, as if my child-tears could wash away all the stains of jaded adulthood.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a sad book but it's good and happy even though it's sad.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The heart-warming story of The Tiger Rising is the story of a boy named Rob who is struggling to find himself and his best friend, a fierce girl called Sissy, or Sistine. It is sure to suck you in if you enjoy a devastating yet at the same time happy books.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Tiger Rising is about a boy named Rob who finds a Tiger who belongs to Boughchamp. The richest guy in town. Rob should stay away from the but instead he "puts it on his suit case" (you'll find out what that means). He had a not so good life, until he met Sistene. But his life is still a little stinky. Rob tells Sistene about the tiger she orders him to let the tiger go but will he?
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo is about this boy named Rob who found this tiger. He really likes this tiger and goes to visit it often. He also meets this girl from school and can't decide if he likes her or not. Since Rob has a desease on his legs, he gets to stay home from school for a couple of days and he is happy about that. This girl comes over to his house to bring him his homework. Rob decides to tell her about the tiger, and at the end they end up letting it go. Once they let him go, Rob's father kills it. This book was a short, easy book to read. It was really easy to read along, but the author is so cool how she writes and expresses each character. I could really tell she was the same author of Because of Winn-Dixie. That is another book by Kate DiCamillo that is really good. I enjoyed this book to see what would happen to the tiger because they are cute. It was sad to know that Rob's mother died when he was just a kid. I know I would be really sad. If you need an easy book to read then I would recommend this book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A heartbreaking story about a young boy, Rob, who is amazed to discover a caged tiger in the middle of the woods close to the motel he's living at with his father. Rob has recently lost his mother to cancer, and ever since his father punished him for crying over her loss, Rob hasn't allowed himself to feel anything: Rob had a way of not-thinking about things. He imagined himself as a suitcase that was too full, like the one that he had packed when they left Jacksonville after the funeral. He made all his feelings go inside the suitcase; he stuffed them in tight and then sat on the suitcase and locked it shut. That was the way he not-thought about things. But on the same day that he makes this amazing discovery, he also meets Sistine (like the chapel), a young girl with a serious chip on her shoulder who inspires him—when she downright doesn't force him—to speak out. Sistine is adamant that the tiger must be set free, but Rob isn't so sure it's a good idea.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    We have loved every book we have read by Kate DiCamillo and this was no exception. The story of the tiger and his captivity weaves subtly throughout the larger story of Rob and Sistine's struggles. And although it wasn't a Litmus Lozenge (Winn Dixie) it was poignantly fulfilling.