Hold Your Temper, Tiger!

“Little Tiger had a temper,” writes Roth (Five Little Ducklings Go to School), and Rashin (There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly) pictures his temper as a sort of spiky red ghost that stomps, cries, and yells along with the temperamental young tiger. After Little Tiger’s refusal to clean up his toys leads to a threat from Mama (“You had better hold onto your temper, Tiger... or else!”), he rethinks his attitude, since “or else” could mean any number of unwelcome punishments. Painted in forceful shades of red, blue, yellow, and green, Rashin’s artwork makes a big impact; readers will easily recognize parts of themselves in this cranky, golden-furred hero. Little Tiger’s solution (stuffing his temper under his baseball cap) is mostly played for laughs, but the idea of decentering angry emotions could still prove useful for the tantrum prone. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)