ISBN: 9780007215997
The Tiger who came to tea was first published in 1968, and is still a valuable addition to any children’s library (or book club!). The illustrations are vivid and bright, and the storyline is delightful:
The doorbell rings while Sophie and her mom are sitting down for tea, and they invite their peculiar guest in to join them. They are quite shocked as he makes himself at home and eats more than his fair share, after which he just leaves. There is a deeper message in the story, which may or may not be based on an experience in the author’s childhood –
“Fellow children’s author Michael Rosen says metaphorically the tiger in Kerr’s children’s book could be interpreted as a vision from her past – an underlying threat, robbing the family of everything they own and disrupting the comforting routine of a young child’s daily life.
“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 don’t know whether Judith did it consciously or not – I wouldn’t want to go there – but the point is he’s a jokey tiger, but he is a tiger,” says Rosen.” – BBC News
Read more about Judith Kerr here.
Here is an extract from the book:
You can listen to a reading of The Tiger who came to Tea – Seanies Stories:
The Tiger Who Came to Tea was recently made into a stage play written by David Wood and produced by Nick Brooke, which has toured the UK.
You can view the Official Trailer of The Tiger Who came to Tea stage play:
View some teaching ideas here
