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    Tiger Boy
    Tiger Boy
    Tiger Boy
    Ebook116 pages1 hour

    Tiger Boy

    By Mitali Perkins and Jamie Hogan

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    When a tiger cub goes missing from the reserve, Neil is determined to find her before the greedy Gupta gets his hands on her to kill her and sell her body parts on the black market. Neil's parents, however, are counting on him to study hard and win a prestigious scholarship to study in Kolkata. Neil doesn't want to leave his family or his island home and he struggles with his familial duty and his desire to maintain the beauty and wildness of his island home in West Bengal's Sunderbans.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCharlesbridge
    Release dateApr 14, 2015
    ISBN9781607345435
    Author

    Mitali Perkins

    Mitali Perkins has written several books for young readers, including Home Is in Between, Between Us and Abuela, Forward Me Back to You, You Bring the Distant Near (a National Book Award Nominee, a Walter Honor Book, a South Asia Book Award Winner, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, and a Shelf Awareness 2017 Best Book of the Year), Rickshaw Girl (a NYPL Top 100 Book), and Bamboo People (an ALA Top 10 YA novel). Mitali was born in India and currently resides in Northern California.

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    Reviews for Tiger Boy

    3.5/5

    21 ratings5 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Thank You This Is Very Good, Maybe This Can Help You ----- Download Full Ebook Very Detail Here ---- https://amzn.to/3XOf46C ---- - You Can See Full Book/ebook Offline Any Time - You Can Read All Important Knowledge Here - You Can Become A Master In Your Business
    • 4/5
      Engaging story about a little known beautiful area called the Sunderbans in India/Bangladesh. A boy and his father both experience growth as they realize what is truly important and meaningful.
    • 4/5
      For a short read, this book hits a lot of interesting topics. Love the setting -- the Sundarbans off the coast of India, next to a tiger preserve. I found Neel to be quite a sympathetic character -- deeply attached to his family, thoughtful about opportunities he has that his sister and father did not, very concerned about his home and the trees and animals that reside there. There's some intense adventure, quick moving plot, good resolution, and I really like the book's layout -- both the chapter decorations and the illustrations. Altogether, really well done.
    • 5/5
      My Opinion: Neel is a young boy who lives on an island in the Sunderbans of West Bengal who is happy and content with his life with the exception of two things: 1) the Headmaster of his school has entered Neel into a competition to win a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school in the larger city of Kolkata, India; and 2) the Bengal tiger reserve on a neighboring island has announced that a baby tiger has escaped and has made its way over to Neel's island, where it has become lost.

      Neel's island, among others, has been devastated repeatedly by cyclones and people are having to leave to try to find work in the bigger cities, but Neel loves his island and his family so much that he never wants to leave, and if he wins the scholarship, he feels like he will lose both. He is a natural when it comes to reading or writing anything in English or Bangla, but math is another story altogether. He hates math and sees this as his way out of winning the scholarship and having to move away.

      There is an evil man called Mr. Gupta who is trying to take over the island and who has absolutely no regard for the Sunderbans or any of their traditions. He cuts down the trees that serve as natural barriers to protect the rice and chili fields of the farmers from the cyclones when they hit, and when he hears about the lost tiger cub, he puts a bounty out on its head, hiring locals to help him find it by offering more money than they can turn down. Even if they know it's not the right thing to do, food is scarce, and money even more scarce, so they do it to feed and clothe their families. Neel's friend, Viju, tells him about the bounty, but since Viju and his father are helping Gupta to search the island, he swears Neel and his other friend, Ajay, to secrecy. Even though Neel knows he can't tell anyone or risk breaking his promise to Viju, he worries and worries about what's going to happen to that poor little cub if Gupta finds her.

      What I loved most about this story was its heart. Neel and his sister, Rupa, are so moved by the story of the lost little tiger cub that they put themselves into danger's way to try to find her. Jai, Neel's father (whom he calls Baba), is so eager for Neel to win the scholarship and have a better life than he can give him, ends up going against what he knows is right to try to earn enough money to hire a tutor to help Neel pass the math portion of the scholarship examination. Everybody but Mr. Gupta have such big hearts and think about everyone else, which is so refreshing to read. I also loved the descriptions of the island and life on the island that Mitali Perkins injects with such clarity:

      "This pond was freshwater, but most of the creeks and rivers in the Sunderbans were salty and muddy. Neel didn't mind - he loved the tang of salt on his tongue and the squish of mud between his toes. Home for him was the hiss of his father's boat a it slipped through the deltas, golpata branches swaying in the monsoon rains, and the evening smell of jasmine flowers near his house mingling with green chilies and fresh ilish fish simmering in mustard-seed oil. Neel had climbed all the tall palm trees, waded in the creeks, and foraged for wild guavas in every corner of the mangrove forest."

      When you get to the end of the book, you learn that Mitali Perkins lived in the Sunderbans when she was young, which is why her descriptions are so, well, descriptive! I highly recommend this book to children and middle grade kids to teach them something as simple as how to be respectful to people and how to do what is right even when no one else is, to something bigger than themselves, the plight of the Bengal tiger and the lives of the people who live in Sunderbans.

      I am giving this book a very happy 5 stars :D

      I received a copy of this book free of charge through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
    • 4/5
      A fast-paced, engrossing story with compelling conflicts and evocative descriptions.

    Book preview

    Tiger Boy - Mitali Perkins

    one

    Splash! Splash! The two boys stripped off their school uniforms and jumped into the pond. Their heads bobbed as they wrestled and dunked each other.

    Race you! called Ajay.

    Neel swam behind his lanky friend, feeling as sleek and fast as a river dolphin, even though he was sure to lose. It had been much warmer than usual for January, and it was three o’clock, the hottest part of the day. I should be home studying, he thought. Teacher was concerned about how behind Neel was in his preparation. The big exam was in April, and Neel’s math skills weren’t getting better.

    The pond was a short detour from the path around the island, about halfway between school and home. How good it felt to drop his heavy satchel, unbutton the starched white shirt, tear off those stiff school shorts, and jump into the refreshing water!

    This pond was freshwater, but most of the creeks and rivers in the Sunderbans were salty and muddy. Neel didn’t mind—he loved the tang of salt on his tongue and the squish of mud between his toes. Home for him was the hiss of his father’s boat as it slipped through the deltas, golpata branches swaying in the monsoon rains, and the evening smell of jasmine flowers near his house mingling with green chilies and fresh ilish fish simmering in mustard-seed oil. Neel had climbed all the tall palm trees, waded in the creeks, and foraged for wild guavas in every corner of the mangrove forest.

    Ajay was already stretched out on the muddy bank at the far side of the pond, pretending to be asleep. He lifted his head and smirked at Neel.

    Neel’s feet touched bottom again and he waded to the bank. He didn’t really mind losing to his friend. Ajay had always been fast and agile in ponds and on the cricket field, but that didn’t seem to matter much in their village. Boys were supposed to do well in school, not on the sports field. Ajay’s father taught Class Two, despairing that his own son was one of the slowest to learn inside a classroom.

    I miss Viju, Neel said, plopping down beside Ajay. I beat him once, remember?

    When we were four years old, said Ajay. He dodged to avoid the scoop of mud Neel flipped his way.

    I thought he might start going to school again now that his father’s back from Chennai.

    Me, too. Maybe they’re fishing together.

    Neel sighed—fishing all day sounded like bliss compared to wearing a hot, scratchy uniform and struggling with math problems. I’m sure he’s getting good at it. Do you think he’s inside the reserve?

    No chance. It’s too dangerous for someone our age to go behind the fence.

    I think he is, Neel said. There’s not enough fish left anywhere else, that’s for sure. Not since the cyclone hit. When Baba takes his boat into the reserve, he comes back with plenty. And honey, too.

    But the tigers are hungrier now, said Ajay. He was right. Villagers like Baba ventured behind the nylon-mesh fence into the reserve at their own risk. If a man—or boy—was seized by a tiger, he would be dragged off into the forest and eaten. Tigers had already claimed five victims from their island this year.

    I don’t see why Viju’s father needs to fish anyway, Neel said. He’s making all that money working for greedy Gupta.

    Gupta was a newcomer to the Sunderbans, but he acted like he owned the entire island. The bad news was that these days, he almost did. After the cyclone hit, many of the men and older boys, and even some of the girls, had left to find work in faraway cities. Viju’s father had come back, but others had never returned. Sometimes their families didn’t hear from them again and were forced to sell parcels of land to Gupta.

    Ajay stood up. One more race? I like beating the smartest kid in school at something.

    Pretend a crocodile’s chasing you, Neel said. I’m in no rush.

    He pushed away the thought of the math assignments in his satchel, floated on his back, and watched wispy white clouds chase each other across the wide blue sky. We named you after my favorite color, Neel, Ma often said, pointing at the horizon where the blue of the sky met the blue of the water. Humming one of his mother’s favorite songs, Neel imagined what it would be like to venture deep into the reserve to hunt for honey, or to pole a boat into an inlet where tiger tracks lined the muddy banks. Baba had never taken Neel to the reserve. Too dangerous, Son, he answered whenever Neel asked. We have to protect that smart brain of yours from claws and teeth.

    Well, what about your brain, Baba? Neel always responded.

    Mine isn’t as good as the one in here, Baba would say, gently rapping Neel’s skull with his knuckles.

    Suddenly a familiar shout came from the golpata trees. Lickety-split, a boy hurtled to the pond, stripped to his underwear, and leaped into the water. It was Viju! Immediately Neel and Ajay pounced and pushed him under.

    After a minute or two, Viju pulled away from the scuffle. Let’s dry off. I’ve got some big news.

    Huge catch of fish, maybe? Ajay asked.

    Neel felt a twinge of jealousy. I bet you saw a tiger!

    I’ll tell you everything—don’t worry. I need your help, in fact.

    The boys swam to the stone ledge where they’d left their clothes, climbed out of the water, and squatted in the sunshine.

    Well? asked Neel.

    Actually I did see a tiger, but that’s not my news, Viju said.

    "You did?"

    Where? When?

    In the reserve. It was just a flash of orange and black through the trees. I was alone; my baba hadn’t come back yet.

    Behind the fence? Weren’t you scared? Ajay shook his head so that drops of water flew everywhere. I’d have fainted dead of fright, right then and there. One quick tiger snack—that’s me.

    What did you do? Neel asked, trying to imagine himself in Viju’s place.

    Dropped my net, jumped into the boat, and rowed out as fast as I could. I’m glad I don’t have to try that again now that my baba’s back. I’m helping him these days—he’s making real money.

    Dirty money, you mean, thought Neel, but he didn’t say it aloud. Gupta paid his workers stacks of rupees to threaten tenants who fell behind on their rent. He hired others to cut down rare sundari trees that grew on the uninhabited islands of the reserve. Sadly, these days even Neel’s father needed the extra income. After fishing and foraging in the mornings for the family, Baba was doing carpentry for Gupta in the afternoons. Neel was sure, though, that his father would never do anything like demand money from widows who used to own their land.

    "Want to hear my big news?" Viju asked, lowering his voice and glancing around as if he were afraid someone might be listening.

    Well, what is it? Ajay asked.

    Viju hesitated. You have to keep it a secret. Do you promise, Ajay?

    Fine.

    Neel? Viju asked.

    Yes, yes. Hurry up and tell us.

    One of the new tiger cubs has escaped!

    two

    Both Ajay and Neel gasped. This was big news. The reserve’s hungry,

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