ALA Booklist (Wed Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)

Whenever a tiger prowls through the forest, other animals run, fly, or slip away. But when Little Tiger bounces into view, not even the mice scatter. His big brother doubts that the little fellow can frighten anyone. Taking that as a dare, Little Tiger tiptoes up to Boar and roars. The response? A yawn. Next, he tries to surprise an elephant, without success. He roars at three monkeys, but they just laugh. Finally, he succeeds when he sees his roaring face reflected in a pond and scares . . . himself. Very effective for reading aloud, the nicely phrased text includes repeated phrases that kids will want to help with, from "tiptoe, tiptoe, tiptoe" to increasingly long and loud versions of "ROAAARR!!!" The appealing artwork, watercolor and pencil with digital elements, suggests the setting simply, while letting viewers concentrate on the interactions between Little Tiger and the other characters. Whether shared with an individual child or a story-hour group, this amusing picture book has an engaging hero whose dilemma will resonate with young children.

Horn Book (Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

Little Tiger's older brother challenges him to scare "a single animal in the forest." But no matter how much Little Tiger tries ("Tiptoe, tiptoe, tiptoe... / ROAR!!!"), he's too little to be frightening. Finally, he catches sight of his own reflection in a pond and manages to scare...himself. Soft, personality-rich pencil and watercolor illustrations accompany a simple but entertaining story.

Kirkus Reviews

As President Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Tigers are "sleek, silent, and totally terrifying. When a tiger prowled through the forest, everyone found other places to be." This is a fine example of Leathers' writing: low-key, with a soupçon of drollery. Tigers are terrifying, unless, that is, you happen to be the adorably un-sleek Little Tiger. His older, bigger brother chides him: "you're too small and clumsy to scare anyone." Well, if tigers can throw gauntlets, Little Tiger grasps it: "I can!" he insists. "And I'll prove it." Now, the best way for a little tiger to scare another animal is to catch it off guard. So Little Tiger tiptoes up to Boar, but: "I could hear you coming a mile away." And for all his tiptoeing, he fails to scare an elephant or a tree full of monkeys ("The monkeys just kept laughing"). Though a frog lazing on a lily pad looks like a likely prospect, when Little Tiger reaches the water's edge and lets out a roar, the only one who is scared is Little Tiger…of his own reflection. Well, that'll do, bet won. Leathers' watercolors are clean and sweet, create a delicate forest setting, and keep the "terrifying" to readers' imaginations. Nicely paced, comfortably told, and not altogether predictable: a winner. (Picture book. 3-5)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Little Tiger bets that he is every bit as -sleek, silent, and totally terrifying- as his skeptical and intimidating older brother. But whenever the cub sneaks up on other jungle inhabitants and lets out a roar, the results are less than stellar. Boar hears him coming a mile away. -Was that meant to scare us?- ask the monkeys, laughing at his diminutive howl. Then Little Tiger spots his own roaring reflection in a pond, and decides that he is plenty scary-after all, he scares himself. Competency and mastery can be high-stakes topics in

School Library Journal (Fri Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2017)

Toddler-PreS Everyone knows that tigers are sleek, silent, and totally terrifying. Unfortunately, Little Tiger is not. When his older brother says he's "too small and clumsy to scare anyone," Little Tiger sets out to prove him wrong. Tiptoeing as silently as he can, Little Tiger attempts scare a boar, an elephant, and some monkeys. They are all completely unafraid, much to Little Tiger's chagrin. When he spots a tiny, jumpy frog in a pond, he is glad to finally find something he knows he can scare. He tiptoes extra quietly up to the water's edge, looks over and ROAR! Finally Little Tiger succeeds in scaring someonehimself. Leathers's pencil and watercolor illustrations are a perfect combination of uncluttered detail, great expressions, muted colors, and adorableness. They complement the fun-to-read text in the best possible way. VERDICT Kids will immediately connect with Little Tiger whose plight and cuteness cannot be denied. A good choice for storytimes or individual sharing and a first purchase for most libraries. Catherine Callegari, Reston Regional Library, VA