Two new picture books featuring tigers inspired this storytime theme (Oh, No! by Candace Fleming and It’s a Tiger! by David LaRochelle). It offers a great opportunity to point out to older preschoolers that tigers are found in India (not Africa). For a craft, there are many choices. Find many simple tiger themed crafts here.
SONGS / FINGERPLAYS
Tigers and Lions (Sung To: “London Bridge”) Lions and tigers come out to play, out to play, out to play, Lions and tigers come out to play, Tigers and lions Lions stand up and tigers sit down, tigers sit down, tigers sit down, Lions stand up and tigers sit down Lions and tigers! Tigers all walk and lions jog, Tigers all walk and lions jog Tigers all walk and lions jog, Lions and tigers Lions twist and tigers hop, Lions twist and tigers hop Lions twist and tigers hop, Lions and tigers
Animals in the Jungle Say (Sung To: “The Wheels on the Bus”) The parrots in the jungle say squawk, squawk, squawk, Squawk, squawk, squawk, squawk, squawk, squawk, The parrots in the jungle say squawk, squawk, squawk, all day long The monkeys in the jungle say ooh, ooh, ooh, all day long. The monkeys in the jungle say ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, The monkeys in the jungle say ooh, ooh, ooh, all day long. The tigers in the jungle say grrr, grrr, grr, grrr, grrr, grr, grrr, grrr, grr, The tigers in the jungle say grrr, grrr, grr, all day long.
BOOKS
Arnold, Marsha. HEART OF A TIGER. A young kitten tries to earn his noble name of Tiger.
Baker, Keith. WHO IS THE BEAST? A tiger reassures other creatures he is similar to each of them and should not be feared.
Banks, Kate. CLOSE YOUR EYES. A mother tiger urges her child to close his eyes and dream of magical places.
Fleming, Candace. OH, NO! Several animals fall into a hole, and fear the tiger will catch them in this cumulative tale.
Fore, S.J. READ TO TIGER. A little boy wants to read but is distracted by a tiger who wants to play.
Kasza, Keiko. THE RAT AND THE TIGER. Tiger takes advantage of his friendship with Rat because of his size.
Kerr, Judith. THE TIGER WHO CAME TO TEA. A tiger comes to tea at Sophie’s house and eats everything in sight.
Kraus, Robert. LEO THE LATE BLOOMER. Leo is not doing things other tigers his age can do, until he does them in his own time.
LaRochelle, David. IT’S A TIGER! The audience will call out the repeated title phrase in this hilarious book.
London, Jonathan. LITTLE LOST TIGER. A Siberian tiger cub is separated from his mother during a forest fire.
Ravishankar, Anushka. TIGER ON A TREE. Listeners will yell “Let him go!” in this tale from India with repetition.
Robinson, Michelle. WHAT TO DO IF AN ELEPHANT STANDS ON YOUR FOOT. Children will guess what happens next in this humorous advice book on dealing with animals.
Rumford, James. TIGER AND TURTLE. An original tale inspired by a folktale from India, where a tiger and turtle fight over a flower.