Tigers

Nocturnal noises are fuel for a child's imagination in this bedtime story--the author's debut. Just after she's been tucked in for the night, a girl hears what sounds like a ``whispered roar.'' As the sound is intermittently repeated, the far-from-sleepy child muses about the tigers that might ``prowl up and down'' and ``scuffle around'' making the hissing noise. Her father reassures her that a rambunctious radiator and not wild felines is what she hears. Riches's muted watercolors sport all the playfulness of a bouncing Tigger. Striped tigers in shades of blue, green and orange slink, coil and pounce across the pages, a perfect complement for Edwards's snappy rhyming tribute to big cats' fancies. Interesting design elements include the folk art borders that frame some pages and other spreads that feature saturated moonlight scenes. Both fanciful and comforting, this vibrant offering is a cat-egorical success. Ages 3-up. (Oct.)