Amazon.ca:Customer reviews: When You Trap a Tiger: (Newbery Medal Winner)

Valourama

Loved the story!!!

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on June 19, 2022

Verified Purchase

This story about a young Korean girl really seemed hit home with my child.

Helpful

Berry

Deeply moving

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on October 29, 2021

This is a moving, heartfelt book about growing up, grief, and changing perspectives. It's a contemporary set in the northwestern US, but brings in fantasy elements and Korean folk tales. My kid loved it and so did I.

Helpful

David Glenn

The magic of stories comes to life

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 13, 2023

Verified Purchase

Lily and her family had to leave California to stay with their grandmother (or halmoni) who is getting sick in her old age. For years she entertained the girl and her sister with tales from Korea about magical tigers and loving sisters. However, their grandmother's condition worsens and Lily is surprised when she's confronted by a magical tiger who wants her to return something. How will Lily be able to help her family and escape the tiger?
It didn't take me long to become engrossed in this book. The story and characters just grab you in a way that makes you want to keep going with it. Lily is someone who grabs your sympathy because she has to deal with a multitude of problems internal and external, and you do feel sorry for her. Her grandmother/halmoni is also a fun person to follow, with her knowledge on traditional Korean customs and eccentric habits. Everyone was well thought out and well written, so good job to Tae Keller.
I also love how the mystical elements are woven in to the narrative without overpowering Lily's struggles. It was fun to see tigers being represented as more supernatural entities instead of just mundane animals you'd see at the zoo. I also love the use of folk tales as an element of the story, connecting our heroes to their heritage as well as their present. I would recommend this book to people looking for a fun fantasy that also contains a passion for one's heritage.
There are some things to be aware of. One of the conditions of the characters reflects a real-world challenge that may be hard for some readers who have experienced it. There is a gay couple in the story for those who don't like such relationships. There is a use of some stereotypes (like a super-rich white kid), but it doesn't define who the character is.
Parents and teachers can use this story to illustrate to kids the magic of looking to the homelands of their ancestors and learning about their customs and traditions. This story can also be used as an object lesson to illustrate the importance of loving our family and helping them when they need our help. An activity that parents and teachers can also associate with this book is to inspire children to research some old folk tales from the lands of their ancestors, and try to write stories inspired by those tales.

2 people found this helpful

cestlavie

When you trap a tiger

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 9, 2023

Verified Purchase

It is a amazing story it is about a girl named Lily and she her halmoni is very sick she just moved to her hamoni’s house to spend time with her
But on the way, she makes a new friend but she is seeing tigers she doesn’t know what’s happening to her

Beehive

First grader loves it!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 1, 2023

Verified Purchase

For Christmas I researched books that had won prizes to help choose some for my granddaughter. This is rated 8+, so I worried a little whether it would be appropriate. Christmas morning, with 11 people all around, she opened this and her Dad said “ Oh that looks interesting, can you read us a little?” She read the first page, we were transfixed, it was a little halting read, but she got it all. I haven’t read the book, so I can’t comment on the writing or the story, but I can tell you this. While we were all in the kitchen cooking the dinner, she was alone on the couch reading this book. Leggos we’re all around on the floor, other play things, too. But she was reading this book.

12 people found this helpful

Sreenesh

Brave book for a brave generation

Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on July 9, 2022

Verified Purchase

Bought and read it to my 10-year-old. A book that underscores the value of identity. Tricky topic, deftly handled. Outstanding!

Amazon Customer

Over the Moon

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 3, 2023

Verified Purchase

I’m reading this to my kids during a challenging time. It hit our hearts in all the right places. Forever changed and thankful for this wonderful story. Tae Keller, you are a star!

One person found this helpful

Eun

Great book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 20, 2023

Verified Purchase

Great book for young readers

Jennifer C.

A wonderful story with Korean mythology

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 11, 2022

Verified Purchase

How many times did I come close to tears while listening to this book? Let me count... 1, 2, 3, ..... 37, 38, ... Okay, I can't actually put a specific number on it, but it was a lot. There was so much going on in this novel that started out as a simple story with a tiger spirit. The feelings that Lily was dealing with, both before and after she found out her grandmother was sick, and the tension that was always there between her and Sam were so realistic that I found myself tearing up or having a catch in my throat so many times.

The feelings that are evoked by Lily's simple desire to make her grandmother better, and how she deals with what happens as she tries to achieve her goal, were beautifully written. Then, to intersperse all of that with the stories that we got to hear, both from the grandmother and the tiger, were beautiful.

Because I have seen so many other reviews complain about this, I want to address the information that comes up about Sam at the end. <spoiler>Yes, it is revealed that she is lesbian. No, it was not just "thrown in there" or "included to be politically correct." A person's sexuality doesn't have to be plot-relevant to be included. LGBTQ+ people exist, everywhere. Let them exist. And, for those who are grabbing their pearls over a MG book having a lesbian in it, children of all ages have siblings who identify as LGBTQ+; why should they not be represented in the literature, too? Sam is a teenager, so it is perfectly normal that she would be discovering who she is - and that includes her sexual identity!</spoiler>

For this book, I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by Greta Jung. I thought she did a wonderful job, and I really appreciated hearing someone pronounce the Korean words so that, when I pick up the book to read again, I will know how they are pronounced.

30 people found this helpful

Happy Grandma

Nice birthday gift

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 8, 2023

Verified Purchase

My nine year old grand nephew loved this book and started reading it right away. Made a nice birthday present.

4 people found this helpful

5 star		81%
4 star		12%
3 star		4%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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When You Trap a Tiger: (Newbery Medal Winner)

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When You Trap a Tiger: (Newbery Medal Winner)

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