This book is well written and thought provoking, but it confronts readers with hard cold facets of emotional issues. Author is an excellent writer, however the subject matter and character depictions are heart-wrenching. Perhaps a 15 year old .... may be able to handle this. I realize that we live in a different world today than when I was a kid. The subject matter deals with death and loss, on a plethora of levels. I believe we can teach our children prayerfully in a gentler way. No doubt author is a great writer, but I suggest parents read this book first before giving to your children.

She is an amazing author that engages her readers. All levels and ages can enjoy this story!

I love Kate DiCamillo. She is an extraordinary writer who really knows the hearts and minds of young people and is very adept at writing for them. Her books always have dialogue that rings true and an emotional wallop to them. She manages to deal with extremely adult themes like love and loss and redemption in such a compelling way and she never talks down to young people. She is amazing and this book is amazing.

The Tiger Rising is written by Kate DiCamillo. The main characters are Rob, Robert, (dad) Sistine and Willie May. It takes place in Florida at a motel called the Kentucky Star.

It all starts out as Rob is going to school and then two brothers named Billy and Norton Threemonger (two bullies) get on the bus and annoy Rob. Then Sistine shows up at school and makes stuff harder, before ending up being Rob's best friend. They meet a tiger and the adventure begins.

The story is sad. It starts in a pretty interesting way. I recommend it to everyone. If you like this book, you might also want to read Because of Winn-Dixie, which is by the same author.

By Gabriella

This is a beautiful book, both in the style of writing and in the story itself, and is sure to be a classic of children's literature. The characters are so well developed that the reader feels as if they are looking in on a real town and its happenings for a brief while and it is a truly inspiring glimpse. This is not just a book for children but a poetic and touching little tale. I highly recommend it to anyone. This book stands up to multiple readings and join equally recommended classics such as Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson or the works of E. L. Konigsberg.

I think I like The Tiger Rising better in retrospect than I did when I read it. It's a lot like looking back on how your parents raised you and realizing that all the go to bed, eat your vegetables, and occasional spankings weren't random acts of cruelty but rather a part of a plan implemented out of love. Likewise it took me awhile to recover from the cold shock of Kate DiCamillo's ending to appreciate all she had done in this book.
The Tiger Rising is the story of two children: shy, sad Rob who has recently lost his mother, and stubborn, sharp Sistine whose father ran off with another woman abandoning her in a small, southern town she hates. Both hate school and long for friendship . . . enter the tiger.
A tiger does not belong in a rusty, iron cage behind a southern hotel, but that is where he is, and the wonder of this creature captures the children. What is there to do but allow the tiger to escape?
The writing is truly amazing. As Rob puts it (about Sistine, but it applies to Ms. DiCamillo):
"Her words sounded the way all those things made him feel, as if the world, the real world, had been punched through, so that he could see something wonderful and dazzling on the other side of it."
Also, I always hesitate before calling someone a Christian author. It's as if I think the moment I do a P.R. Agent will write me and inform me that actually she is a Shiite Muslim, so I won't call Kate DiCamillo a Christian author. I will say, however, that she is an author Christians can rest comfortably in and have no fear.
She is a great writer.

The Tiger Rising was another great book by Kate DiCamillo. I picked this one up after reading The Tale of Despereaux and falling in love with that one. I've become a huge fan of her after reading these two books and can't wait to get my hands on a copy of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.

The Tiger Rising centers around a young boy by the name of Rob who keeps his emotions wrapped up inside. His mother has died recently and he and his father have moved from Kentucky to Florida so that his father could escape the heartbreak of losing her. They now live in the Kentucky Star Motel. His father has instilled in Rob that he should not show tears over his mother's death and that he should be strong, so Rob packs all of his emotions away "into a suitcase." He does this in all aspects of his life. He's picked on at school and instead of getting upset, he ignores it. Instead of voicing his dislike of anything, he pretends to not be bothered by it.

There's a new girl in town by the name of Sistine and she has the opposite problem of Henry. She has too much anger and displays it outwardly to everyone and comes off as quite arrogant. In a twist of events, Rob and Sistine become friends.

Rob has made a discovery that there is a tiger being kept in a cage in the woods behind the motel that he and his father are living in and shares this secret with Sistine. Thoughts and emotions are shared between the friends and a wise maid by the name of Willie May who works for the motel.

The Tiger Rising, like Despereaux, faces issues head on. Kate DiCamillo is not afraid to work with strong emotions and when she does address them, she does so beautifully. This book is written wonderfully and can be enjoyed by anyone. I can see it being especially meaningful to a child who has gone through loss of any kind at a young age.

Kate DiCamillo is the author of the Newbery-winning The Tale of Despereaux and the recent The Remarkable Journey of Edward Tulane. The Tiger Rising is a young adult novel from 2001 about twelve-year-old Rob Horton, the friend he finds in Sistine and his grief concerning the death of his mother. It's a short, insightful story.

This bok is called Tiger Rising its about two kids named Rob and Sinstine there trying to set a tiger free because Robs father is trying to kill the tiger.When they hang out to much with the tiger

Do you like stories about tigers?If you do you should read The Tiger Rising.The Tiger Rising is a beautiful,sad,and heart warming story about a tiger.Also it's about two kids named Rob and Sistine who try to free the tiger.If you like sad,beautiful,and heart warming stories with tigers in them,then this is the book for you.

I think they should read The Tiger Rising because it is a good book but at the same time it is sad. And it has alot
of cool stuff to. And i think its mean sometimes to cause animals die. Sothat is why you should read this book.

Rob recently lost his mother, but he doesn't want to talk about it. His father has made clear that crying is not okay and that remembering won't bring his mother back. Instead, the two of them move far away to help manage a hotel. Rob is miserable at school where kids pick on him, and he has developed a horrible itchy rash on his legs that he can't seem to get rid of. But still he keeps all of his feelings locked up, living in sorrow with his equally quiet father.

Then a girl named Sistine moves to town and starts to be Rob's friend. She lives only with her mother; her father had an affair and is now with another woman. Sistine is furious, and takes out her anger on her mother and on anyone else who gets in her way. She is good for Rob, forcing him to talk a little bit about his mother.

Rob and Sistine know something that leads them to an important decision they have to make. The owner of the hotel has a tiger in a cage in the woods nearby. He hasn't decided what he is going to do with it, but Rob and Sistine don't think it's right to keep the wild animal caged. Rob has been given the keys and the job of feeding the tiger. Sistine thinks he should let the tiger go free. Would that make the animal's life any better, though?

I really liked the interactions between Rob and Sistine. I liked Rob's artistry and how it was expressed through his carving. I didn't like the ending of the story; it seemed like nothing was resolved and everyone was still unhappy. I also had a real problem with Rob's father and the way he made his son's life more difficult by not letting him deal with his grief.

This was one of the best pieces of children's literature I've read to my students. It's a remarkable and compelling story, a story that touched all of us. From page one, my students were involved with Rob and Sistine to the point of talking about 'opening their own suitcases'. My students were shocked at the ending and many cried. In their literature response books, they expressed how deeply this book touched them. This is the 5th Kate DiCamillo book I've read to my students this year--she never fails to amaze all of us.
Tiger Rising is an amazing book!

One of the most beautiful, spare, simple tales of growing up and dealing with pain and loss. Take time with it. It is one of the true ones.

The book is okay I guess it could use a little more deatail. And a happier ending like roberts Dad was happy that his son was safe with him having tiger. Instead of the tiger gets shoot in the head and Robert beating his dad with his fist Could use a diffrent name for Beauchamp like Wariior or Cody. but I will have to give that is sort of adventurests and alot beter endind at the very end i mean come that his dad said son there is not a cloud in the sky. I would think that as robert hurried to the forest from school he had a 5 mile walk ahead but knowing that the tiger would be there it only semmed like 4 minutes. But I think that athour could of put more effrot into it most athours write like to 300 pages like a book I have read before it had at least 234 pages. One of Kate dicarmillo has written books with alot more pages.

Amanda from califroina
10 years old

I read this wonderful book in one day because I couldn't put it down. I just kept on wanting to know what would happen next. I would also love to read more books by this author because I like the way she makes me think if I were in the characters point of view. I would recommend this book if you are the type of person that is into books where anything is possible and everything should be free.

Tiger Rising is about a young boy, Rob, whose mother has just died. He and his father move to a new and very small town and are living in a motel. He makes friends with a girl, Sistine, who goes to school with him. Together they explore the woods near where he lives and find a caged tiger. Sistine wants to let the tiger go free. Rob isn't sure. Soon circumstances arise that make Rob a part of keeping the tiger caged.

The book wasn't subtle. Similarities between the caged tiger and the people trapped in their own ways were really spelled out for me. Willie Mae, the maid who befriends Rob, points out the moral to most chapters. It wasn't bad so much as it just didn't feel right. A strong point to the book was the characters. Many side characters had some depth to them and throughout the story Rob and his father are more and more revealed as they deal with Rob's mother's death.

This isn't a bad book, but I still didn't like it. I don't recommend going out of your way to get it, but don't avoid it either.

I am reading this book aloud to my 4th grade class. The students really love the story. They often ask me to read another chapter! I love Kate Dicamillo's writing style, which helps to engage everyones thinking!

My name is Rob please listen to my tale
Of how owning your feelings will help without fail.

I was sad, my mother had to die
I was so closed up I couldn't cry.

To a Florida motel my dad and I went to stay
But that did nothing to help my sadness go away.

For a long time for a friend I had to search
Then I found Sistine named after a church.

At long last I had finally found a friend
I felt my sadness was coming to an end.

We found a tiger filled with rage
He made his home trapped in a cage.

Sistine thought we should set him free
But I was not as sure as she.

To set him free I did agree
But the results were tragic don't you see?

The tiger is now quite dead
It was my father who shot the lead.

We knew we had to tell the tiger bye
So a funeral was held by Sistine and I

Through all this sadness I did learn
To let my true feelings return.

I enjoyed reading the book The Tiger Rising. I liked it because it was a short story and easy to follow along. The book held my attention because it was about a boy who makes friends with a tiger and I like animals to. One thing I didn't like about the book was the ending. I wish the tiger did not have to die. I would recommend this book to both boys and girls because it is exiting and sad. The next time I'm at the library I am going to get a book by the same author.

I thought this book was adventurous, exciting, and full of suspense. I would recommend this from grades 3-7 because it is an easy book to read, but is also very exciting and all-around great. I thought this book was a page-turner because whenever I read one page I always wanted to turn the page to see what would happen next to Rob and Sistine and to the tiger. It was such a good adventure to read. One thing I learned from reading this book is that some things should never be locked up forever, like feelings, love, or... a tiger.

The Tiger Rising is a marvelous book to read.This book is mainly about a kid living a hotel called the Kentucky Star which was named after a famous race horse that the owner of the hotel had owned a few years back. Beauchamp is the owner of the hotel, he also had a famous horse back then.There is a young boy named Rob Horton. He hates school, the only reason he hates school is because of Billy and Norton Threemoger, the class bullies. Rob also had a rash on his legs called ezcema. A few weeks later a girl comes from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her name is Sistine Bailey,she was named after the Sistine Chapel in Rome, Italy. Rob discovers a tiger at the back of the hotel in a cage. Sistine was always telling Rob to let the tiger go but Rob never did. Rob and Sistine were always fighting about letting the tiger go. Finally, Rob lets the tiger go, but I won't tell you what happens next. I would recommend this book because it seems to have a point unlike other books.

The Tiger Rising is about two kids who meet and try to set a tiger free.The first thing that happens is Rob goes to school, on the bus he gets picked on by two older boys named Billy and Norten Threemonger.There was a knew girl in the class named Sisten Baley. Sisten was named after the Sisten Chapel in Rome Italy. Sisten was a very sassy girl who thought her dad was coming back for her.Also Sisten and Rob went through a lot of things before they were ready to release the tiger.When they released the tiger he hesetated on going out.He also ran off when he finally went out.

The Tiger Rising is a great book. It's about a youg kid named Rob who has a rash on his legs and does not like school at all. Then later he met a girl named Sistine. Rob found a tiger that belonged to Beauchamp, the owner of a hotel. Rob and Sistine let the tiger go and Rob's dad shoots the tiger. The best part of this story book is when Sistine read the poem, "Tiger Tiger, Burning Bright." Then, in the middle of it, she saidd that is all I remember. I will recommend this book because it teaches you not to fight, just to walk away. The book is also funny sometimes.

The Tiger Rising is a very good book. It's about a boy and a girl named Robert and Sistine. Rob is a poor boy who lives with his father in a motel called the Kentucky Star. Rob's father works for the motel owner Beauchamp, and his father gets paid very little. Sistine is a stubborn girl that always gets in fights at school and thinks her dad is going to come and get her. The best part in the story is when a Rob gets the job to feed the tiger. I would recommend this book to all ages.

Have you ever heard of the book The Tiger Rising? It's about Rob and Sistine,two very young childern locked away in a world of lies.They meet up and find a tiger locked up in a cage right in the back of the motel.The two kids want to let it go and they have the keys to the cage.Would you let the tiger go? I wouldn't. If I were you, I'd read this book.The Tiger Rising teaches a good lesson and story, so I would recommend it as a good read.

Tiger Rising is really diffeernt from the books I read with my class before. The best part of the book is Rob Horton, a kid with many problems. Sistine is his friend; she has problems too. Rob Horton gets picked on and he has no friends, until he met Sistine Bailey. He has a rash on both legs that is really caused by him not being able to let go of his problems. Letting the tiger go is the dream of both Rob and Sistine. I really liked the book.

This book is about a boy named Rob that tries to pass a tragic all tragedy that happened to his family about a year ago. When he thought that thing wouldn't get worse well it did. He wanted every thing to be ok but that didn't happen to this young boy. When he went to school it got bad because he was always getting picked on by Norton and Billy. But that didn't change how he felt. But then came this girl Sistine she was no ordinary girl she was rich and beautiful and that's when Rob saw her and he assumed
"This is the girl I've been dreaming about". This book has feel affection for and companionship.

The Rising Tiger is an amazing book. The author Kate Dicamillo knows how to use cliffhangers that's how I got pulled into this book. She uses cliffhangers at the end of almost every paragraph. In this book Rob feels happy, sad and he feels in love. If I were to rate this book out of 10 I would rate this book a 9. This book is one of my favorite books because this book was well written by Kate Dicamillo.

Notorious Nina

This book is about a boy named Rob that tries to pass a tragic all tragedy that happened to his family about a year ago. When he thought that thing wouldn't get worse well it did. He wanted every thing to be ok but that didn't happen to this young boy. When he went to school it got bad because he was always getting picked on by Norton and Billy. But that didn't change how he felt. But then came this girl Sistine she was no ordinary girl she was rich and beautiful and that's when Rob saw her and he assumed
"This is the girl I've been dreaming about". This book has feel affection for and companionship.

The Rising Tiger is an amazing book. The author Kate Dicamillo knows how to use cliffhangers that's how I got pulled into this book. She uses cliffhangers at the end of almost every paragraph. In this book Rob feels happy, sad and he feels in love. If I were to rate this book out of 10 I would rate this book a 9. This book is one of my favorite books because this book was well written by Kate Dicamillo.

Do you like big cats? How about discovering secrets? If you do, I have a book for you! It's called, The Tiger Rising by Kate diCamillo. The book begins when a lonely and unhappy boy, Rob, discovers a tiger in the woods behind the motel where he and his father live. Rob has to figure out whose tiger it is. When he discovers the tiger belongs to the mean, grouchy and greedy motel owner, Rob concocts a plan. What will he do? You have to read the book to find out. I'm Laura, and I recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure, family and making difficult decisions.

This is an extremely well-written story in every regard, and would appeal to even adult readers. It is, however, a serious and downright sad story, and is not as magical as the author's latest works, a fact which may disappoint some.

This book is really a departure from the fantastic writing I'm used to from Kate Dicamillo. While it's similar in some ways to "Because of Winn Dixie", it fails to create a bond between the reader and the book's characters. I kept thinking the story would take a turn and grab my attention, or sympathy, or anything to make me care about what is happening to these characters, but it never happened. Fabulous author, bad book.

So many of these characters are cursed with ugliness, whether it's inward ugliness like selfishness, anger, or cowardness or whether it's outward ugliness like the main character who's legs are covered in a hideous rash. However, the despite the ugliness of it's characters, all the characters are still vulnerable. The dialogue in this book is raw and filled with poor grammar and Southern slang. The ending is emotional and far from sugar coated. From what I've said here, this book wouldn't seem as beautiful as it really is. The truth is that this book is gorgeous. While reading it, I wasn't sure I'd like it or not... but in the end I realized that the symbolism and honesty of this story made it into a story that flowed like one big beautiful poem.

The Tiger Rising
By Kate DiCamillo

Rob lives in the Kentucky Star Motel in Lister, Florida. "The Kentucky Star sign was composed of a yellow neon star that rose and fell over a piece of blue neon in the shape of the state of Kentucky."
Rob goes to school like a normal boy but when a rash on his legs is believed to be contagious, he is sent out of school.
Then a girl named Sistine Bailey who hates the south, moves to Lister. She and rob hate each other but create a friendship later.
As the story moves on Rob discovers a tiger in the woods. The tiger is locked in a cage. Beauchamp the owner of the tiger forces Rob to feed it.
When Rob takes Sistine to see the tiger, Sistine demands Rob to let it go. Is it right to keep a wild animal locked in a cage?
With the help of Willie May, a maid working at the Kentucky Star, who Sistine calls a "prophetess", Rob overcomes the loss of his mother, learns to appreciate Sistine, and becomes closer to his father.
This modern fable tells a bittersweet story packed with lessons and morals. Such as deep inside you there is always a tiger rising.
Although this story appeals for girls, boys may enjoy it too. Even though this is one of her lesser-known books it is just as great as her others.

The Tiger Rising
by:Kate DiCamillo


Rob the main character of tiger rising lost his mom around 6 months ago.Him and his fother moved from jacksonville to Lister. Rob is very quiet and bottles things up, he doesnt have many friends and he hates school however he comes across a tiger who suddenly changes his life.
Robby lives in a motel with his father, for now until they can start there life again. Roby in school meets a girl named Sistine who just moved into the town of Lister. At first she hates robby, she even sticks her tounge out at him in class. He soon relizes she is going through the same thing he is by being bullies by the kids in school. Robys bullies are norrton and his brother billy. They constantly bully him on the bus. One day during school roby sees sistine getting bullied and helps her out he begins to change alittle in the story from being afraid and scared at that point to actually saying something to these bullies. However although sistine and him begin to hang out after school he still keeps a barrier up and he keeps " his suite case closed". Robby wasnt shure if he should tell sistine about his tiger that he found so he brought her to see it. The tiger is in the woods far back behind the motel" kentucky star". The tigers cage was rusted and old with a wooden slab for a roof. The tiger justs paces back and forth every day , sistine wants to let him out but robby doesnt want to get cought by the owner of the motel Beauchamp....Will they finnaly let the tiger out? Will robby and sistine stick up to their bullies? Will robby ever "open his suitcase" and not keep his thoughts, feelings, emotions so locked up? Read on and see...
I liked the book Tiger Rising, however i thought it was alittle on the slow side meaning it took a while for anything to happen. It didnt really keep me interested. However i think this book would be good for teens who are going through hard times and are just trying to "find themsleves". Robby is like every teen ,just wanting to fit im he just has to losen up and figure it out.