Access Today The Tiger Who Came To Tea (Big Books) Planned By Judith Kerr Compiled As EText

is it that a lot of our favourite children's books have to do with food
This one is particularly nostalgic for me, as it is the story I used to calm down a two year old who had fallen off the top bunk, thus needing an xray to see if any bones were broken.
A normal examination was impossible as she started to scream every time the doctor came near her, so there we were, me and a doctor, both in lead aprons, trying to hold down a wriggling screeching refusenik so that her nice photo would come out unblurred.
In the end I suggested that the doctor should leave, and I would tell her a story to soothe her and they could do the xray when they saw fit.
This was the story.

I'm not sure if it's really suitable for my English student, I think she already knows enough words to do with food and eating, and maybe it's not too good an idea to try to explain why a mother and daughter would have the kind of tea in the afternoon that involves sandwiches and buns and cake and biscuits, and then have a supper of sausage and chips as well.
Actually, no, they didn't get the cake and sandwiches because the tiger ate them all, and drank all Daddy's beer and all the water in the tap too.
Two year olds just accept this fantasy world, and accept that it's a world where the milk is delivered to the door and a boy from the grocery brings your order by bicycle, but a seven year old questions it.
This is always the anomaly when teaching young children a second language their linguistic ability does not match their cognitive level, Should a tiger come to tea,
it is scarce a tragedy,
Give him buns
two or three
or ten
and should he come again
we'll resupply with grub,
But first let's to the pub, Sophie and her mummy are just sitting down to tea in this classic British picturebook, when a Tiger knocks on the door and asks to join them.
Sophie's mum invites him in, and his appetite proves formidable, leading him to eat everything in the house, With Sophie's daddy on the way home, what will Sophie's mum do about supper Fortunately, Daddy has an idea, . .

Originally published in, The Tiger Who Came to Tea has the same gentle humor to be found in its creator's books about Mog, the forgetful cat.
As a huge Mog fan, I've been meaning to pick this one up, and I'm glad I finally have! The artwork is charming I liked the use of color, the juxtaposition of the realistic and fantastic, and the Tiger's immensely appealing smile and the story entertaining.
Subsequent stories about demanding tea guests thinking here of titles like sitelinkTea Rex clearly owe a debt to Kerr, Yes, I know 'why hadn't I read this before' I think I did when I was very young but revisiting again brought up the oddness of the whole book and the visit of the tiger.
I can understand why adult readers see the tiger as a representation of Nazis visiting the Kerr's home its unquestionable authority and power and it feeds on the family's stock of food has a sense of everpresent danger.
Although mother and daughter never seem worried about the visit or the tiger itself, its size and mention of a probable return did make for a slightly disconcerting visit.
On saying this, having read this with my son, he thought the whole thing very funny and enjoyed reading and watching how much the tiger could eat.
Food for thought. Going to keep track of all the books I read with my little brother bc why not : The British are so nonchalant, A tiger comes in and eats and drinks everything in the house, No worries, we'll just go out to eat tonight, The Tiger Who Came to Tea is a picture story book for very young children, It was first published in, but is one of those books which appeals to generation after generation, I remember children in thes loving it, and it is just as popular today,

It is all about a little girl called Sophie, her mummy, and a tiger, all of whom have tea together, Of course it is. What did you expect The title told you that is exactly what it would be,

The story starts with a ring at the door, interrupting Sophie and her mummy when they are having their afternoon tea in their

kitchen.
Who could it be, they wonder, Sophie opens the door and a tiger peeps around the edge of the door frame, He is very polite, and asks if he may join them, “Of course, come in” Sophies mummy says,

But a tiger is a very big animal, with a simply enormous appetite, Although he sits very nicely at the kitchen table, and waits politely to be offered the sandwiches, the cakes, the buns and then the biscuits, each time he scoffs the lot! And when he is offered a cup of tea, he not only drinks it all, but also all the milk in the milk jug.
Then he looks round to see what else he can find,

The tiger gets into all the saucepans, the cupboards and the fridge, eating every single scrap of food in the house and drinking everything too even the water from the taps.
Nobody seems to mind though, Sophie cuddles him, rides on his back and plays with his stripy tail and the tiger still has a great big smile on his face.
At last there is nothing left to eat, So

“Thank you for my nice tea, I think Id better go now”

says the tiger, and he leaves by the same door as he came in, as they all wave goodbye to each other.


After he has left, Sophies mummy notices what a mess there is, and oh dear, Sophie cant have her bath either because there is not a drop of water left! Sophies daddy comes home and they both explain that there is no food because a tiger had eaten it all.
Not to worry, daddy says, they can all go out and have a meal in a cafe,

So that is exactly what they do, even though it has got dark and all the street lights are on, If you look carefully you can even see a stripy cat on the pavement! They have a lovely meal of sausages, and chips, and ice cream.
The next day Sophie and her mummy go out to buy some more food, and they make sure they buy a big tin of Tiger Food.


But the tiger never did come to tea again,

This is a charming book, with a fully anthropomorphised, gentlemanly tiger, Partly why it succeeds so well is that it is so matter of fact, using a familiar if slightly oldfashioned English setting, with an oddball element.
The carefully drawn pictures complement it very well, Minimalist backgrounds make sure that the handsome tiger with his cheeky grin is very prominent, along with the simply rendered and attractive characters, Line and gouache is used, with perhaps little touches of crayon the painted colours being flat and bright,

Judith Kerr has also written a series ofwellloved childrens picture books about “Mog the Cat”, Her novel for older children, “When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit” has also been highly acclaimed, It is semiautobiographical, giving a childseye view of the Second World War, Although living most of her life in England and thought of as an English author, Judith Kerr was actually born in Berlin, Germany, She has a Jewish background, and her family had to flee the country in, as her father was on a death list for opposing the Nazis.
He was a theatre critic, and after he fled the country his books were burned by the Nazis, The family escaped to Switzerland and France, before finally settling in Great Britain,

Some critics, notably the childrens author Michael Rosen, have suggested that the tiger in this story represents something in her past:

“Judith knows about dangerous people who come to your house and take people away.
She was told as a young child that her father could be grabbed at any moment by either the Gestapo or the SS he was in great danger.
So I dont know whether Judith did it consciously or not I wouldnt want to go there but the point is hes a jokey tiger, but he is a tiger”.


However the author herself denies this, She first thought of the story after visiting a zoo with her three year old daughter, telling it many times over and over for about a year.
Then she wrote it all down, and created the careful quirky illustrations,

The Tiger Who Came to Tea is one of the best selling childrens books of all time, It has been translated into several languages, adapted for the theatre and made into a musical, Judith Kerr was married to the author Nigel Kneale, of Quatermass fame, a very inventive SF screenwriter, The two were married for overyears, until his death in, Judith Kerr herself is still writing and illustrating her delightful picture books at the grand age of, This is an entertaining story about a tiger who acts most decidedly improper at tea time, The narrative is short and silly and the illustrations scream of an older time,

I do not remember reading this book when I was a child, but it seems to be a tale that has remained popular over the years.
We enjoyed reading it together, My little girl favourite book! An absolute classic, For my first book review I have chosen The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr, This is a story I have read many times for my nephews and for the boy whom I child mind for and they love it.

It is a classic tale written over forty years ago which tells the story of Sophie and her mum who sit down to have tea one afternoon, when there is a knock at the door, and they have an unexpected visit from a tiger.
They allow the tiger to come in and have tea with them as if there is nothing unusual about this situation, They do not hesitate in sharing their food with the tiger, who turns out to be very hungry and eats all their food He ate all the buns on the dish.
And then he ate all the biscuits and all the cake, until there was nothing left to eat on the table, After the tiger has devoured all the food he says thank you and leaves, Sophie and her mum wave him off at the door, The father returns from work and suggests that they go to a café for their tea as the tiger has eaten all their food.
Sophie and her mum also go to the supermarket to replenish their cupboards and they buy a large tin of tiger food in case their visitor returns.

From my experience this is a story most enjoyed by children aged betweenandyears, What child wouldnt love the idea of an exotic wild animal coming to their house! The author creates a great sense of mysteriousness at the end of the story when we are told that the tiger never came back again.
We are left wondering where had the tiger come from and where did he go afterwards and why did he not come back, There are great opportunities to discuss these ideas with children or base activities around these ideas after you have read the story with them.
Perhaps you can have a discussion with the children on what they would do if a tiger or some other wild animal came to their house.

This book has great potential to be used for role plays, I currently work as a child minder and the little boy I mind and I have many times acted out this story with the child always choosing to be the tiger of course!, he knocks on the living room door, I answer it and act oh so surprised to find a tiger at my door.
In our role play we use lots of the dialogue from the book and add in our own changes also, I also recently came across this story on audio CD,
I think one of the themes central to this story is, sharing, Sophie and her mother have to problem allowing the tiger into their home and letting him eat all their food, They are not even annoyed about it and they buy tiger food in case he returns,
The illustrations in this book are lovely, The depictions of the characters and the clothes that they are wearing are a little old fashioned and I think this adds to the charm of the story.

Compared to social norms today, the depiction of gender roles in this story is out of date, with the mother as house wife preparing supper for daddy, and the father as the sole bread winner.
However it must be considered that this story was written over forty years ago so I dont think this is a real criticism,
What I also find interesting is the shift back and forth from realistic to unrealistic items in this story, for example having no food for dinner because a tiger has eaten it all make believe, a family trip to a café reality, mother and daughter doing the grocery shopping together reality, buying tiger food make believe.

I really like this book and would highly recommend it, I hope I get to use it in the classroom when I am a teacher,
Can anyone recommend any other good books by Judith Kerr
A classic much loved story about a tiger that came to tea and ate everything in the house.

Really entertaining story for the younger children and I enjoyed reading this book as well,
Recommended. I loved this story and, as a child, would have been utterly delighted reading this/having this read to me,

It says it was published first in, It feels mores to me, From the words within, I do believe it was probably first published in England,

Ive always loved tigers, though as an adult not in zoos or other entertainment parks, and so even this very “untigerlike” tiger appealed to me.
The story is very funny and entertaining, and fun to read aloud,

The illustrations are equally amusing, and I especially liked the picture of the little tiger striped cat the family passes by on the street.


A dated but very funny book, .