When You Trap A Tiger by Tae Keller

When You Trap A Tiger | Tae Keller | 2020 | Fantasy | Grade 3-7 | 4.1 Reading Level | 304 pages | 7 1/2 hours listening time

Lilly and her mother and sister move into their grandmother's home because she is ill. Lilly meets a tiger that no one else can see. The tiger tells her that her grandmother stole the stories which are Korean folktales. The tiger wants to make a deal and is willing to heal the grandmother if Lilly can get back what was stolen.

There is no doubt that the family relationships are very loving. The writing is lovely and the Korean folktales connection was very interesting. This book will be loved by many readers.

I was underwhelmed. This book just won the Newbery award and so I was looking for the 5-star feelings but couldn't find them. I was somewhat confused by the folktale storyline about the Tiger and its meaning. I thought it was a sad story and I never really connected with the characters. I was sorry about that because it will make it hard for me to sell this book to other readers.