TIGER TROUBLE!
by Diane Goode & illustrated by Diane Goode
A fanciful and cheerily outlandish tale about a boy and his . . . cat. Young Jack lives with his tiger, Lily, in a fine apartment building, and Lily, like Mary’s little lamb, follows Jack everywhere, doing what he does. But then Mr. Mildew Mud buys the apartment building and moves in upstairs with his dog Fifi. Mud hates cats, and so does Fifi. He banishes Lily by morning, but that night Lily trounces a burglar about to make off with all of Mr. Mud’s favorite things (including Fifi). Lily’s a hero, and gets a 100-year lease. The illustrations are set in a 19th-century Gotham where the men sport large mustaches, the kitchens are tiled, and the kids wear caps. Much of the humor comes from the wonderful pictures: Fifi is quite a sullen-looking bulldog; Lily is a sleek and full-sized tiger but usually behaves like a person; Mr. Mud wears his black, silk, top hat even with his purple dressing gown. Goode’s (Cinderella: The Dog and Her Little Glass Slipper, 2000, etc.) palette seems especially vivid for this romp, the blues are bluer, the tiger’s golden coat a standout against the deep lavenders and greens worn by the other characters. Rollicking good fun. (Picture book. 4-8)