The Tiger Rising

A National Book Awardfinalist by Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo.

Walking through the misty Florida woods one morning, twelve-year-old Rob Horton is stunned to encounter a tiger--a real-life, very large tiger--pacing back and forth in a cage. What's more, on the same extraordinary day, he meets Sistine Bailey, a girl who shows her feelings as readily as Rob hides his. As they learn to trust each other, and ultimately, to be friends, Rob and Sistine prove that some things--like memories, and heartache, and tigers--can't be locked up forever. Featuring a cover illustration by Stephen Walton.

Kate DiCamillo says of THE TIGER RISING, ＂Rob Horton first showed up in a short story I was writing. I finished the story, but apparently Rob wasn’t finished with me. He hung around for weeks afterward, haunting the other stories I was working on. Finally, I said to him, ’What in the world do you want?’ And he said, ’I know where there’s a tiger.’ Like Sistine, I said one word back to him, ’Where?’ THE TIGER RISING is how Rob Horton answered me.＂