When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller

Lily grew up loving her halmoni's stories. The Korean folktales always began with, "Long, long ago, when tiger walked like a man," and her most favorites were always about two clever sisters. At the end, her halmoni would always caution her to never trust a tiger. What Lily never expected was for a tiger to appear as they journey to move-in with her halmoni, who is ailing in health. 

She soon learns that her grandmother stole stories from the tiger. The tiger offers a trade: her halmoni's health for the return of the stolen jars of stories. Will Lily trust the tiger to heal her grandmother? 

The story that follows is stunning. Keller is a master at weaving the magical with the real and addresing the complexities of immigrant life and the idea of home. What is most admirable is her ability to illustrate end of life and coming of age themes together while balancing character development and staying true to the over-arching messages about the dangers of burying the difficult stories in our life and finding our inner tiger. This book is heart-wrenching and beautiful. Readers will wonder about Lily long after the story is finished. 

 

 

When You Trap A Tiger by Tae Keller is the winner of the 2021 Newbery Medal and the 2021 Asian/Pacific American Award for Children's Literature. It is available in our collection in print, eBook, and eAudiobook.

If you read and enjoyed When You Trap A Tiger, try one of these read-alikes: 

The Land of Forgotten Girls by Erin Entrada Kelly

Inkling by Kenneth Oppel

Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh

Stargazing by Jen Wang

Hour of the bees by Lindsay Eagar