Tiger Walk

One day Tom draws a tiger, inspired by his visit to the art gallery... That night, when Tom can’t sleep, the tiger pads out of his drawing and purrs, “Let’s go for a walk!” It’s the beginning of a magical and life-changing adventure, as the tiger helps Tom to overcome some of his biggest fears.

Nominated for CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2020 (UK)

“"Through her precise text, Hofmeyr espouses the joy of imagination and the power of art to stimulate it. The afterword discusses Henri Rousseau's Surprised!, the painting that inspired the story; Hodgson's elegant, softly textured colored-pencil illustrations do it justice and ensure that the tiger never overwhelms readers. Simply lovely." - Kirkus Reviews "A beautifully written and illustrated book by Dianne Hofmeyr and Jesse Hodgson, based on Henri Rousseau's painting Surprised! (Tiger in a Tropical Storm). As well as teaching children about a love of art, it helps them address their fears as the tiger becomes a reassuring friend to Tom on a magical night-time adventure. Great for reading aloud before bed." - Discover Animals "The illustrations are richly coloured and stunning...the language is beautiful with lovely imagery. A perfect story for bedtime reading." - Books for Keeps 5 star review "Your senses are immediately stimulated as you start to read...this entrancing tale of a little boy's transformation from fearful to fearless. It's fantastic to see a painting such as this one of Henri Rousseau's used as the starting point for the story. Jesse Hodgson's arresting tigerish scenes...have just the right balance of ferocity, realism and reassurance as befits a bedtime story." - Red Reading Hub "Wonderfully atmospheric illustrations reflect the story perfectly...A lovely reassuring story about overcoming bedtime fears - a perfect story to share." - Parents in Touch "Captivating illustrations by Jesse Hodgson." - Just Imagine”

"Inspired by the famous tiger painting by Henri Rousseau this is an appealing story about overcoming fears. The story is very well written with lovely description and a pleasing pattern and the illustrations are beautiful, making it a great picture book to share."

"A wonderful bedtime story book but also perfect for Reception children to explore and talk about their own fears."

"Through her precise text, Hofmeyr espouses the joy of imagination and the power of art to stimulate it. The afterword discusses Henri Rousseau's Surprised!, the painting that inspired the story; Hodgson's elegant, softly textured colored-pencil illustrations do it justice and ensure that the tiger never overwhelms readers. Simply lovely."

"A beautifully written and illustrated book by Dianne Hofmeyr and Jesse Hodgson, based on Henri Rousseau’s painting Surprised! (Tiger in a Tropical Storm). As well as teaching children about a love of art, it helps them address their fears as the tiger becomes a reassuring friend to Tom on a magical night-time adventure. Great for reading aloud before bed."

"The illustrations are richly coloured and stunning...the language is beautiful with lovely imagery. A perfect story for bedtime reading."

"Your senses are immediately stimulated as you start to read...this entrancing tale of a little boy's transformation from fearful to fearless. It's fantastic to see a painting such as this one of Henri Rousseau's used as the starting point for the story. Jesse Hodgson's arresting tigerish scenes...have just the right balance of ferocity, realism and reassurance as befits a bedtime story."

"Wonderfully atmospheric illustrations reflect the story perfectly...A lovely reassuring story about overcoming bedtime fears - a perfect story to share."

"Captivating illustrations by Jesse Hodgson."

“The language and pace of this gem of a story are perfect. Inspired by Henri Rousseau’s painting Surprised! (Tiger in a Tropical Storm) this story brings together art and an enchanting adventure, enhanced by Jesse Hodgson’s stunning illustrations.”

Dianne Hofmeyr grew up on the tip of southern Africa. Her acclaimed picture books include The Magic Bojabi Tree, which was nominated for the 2014 Kate Greenaway Award and Zeraffa Giraffa, which is on The Sunday Times' Top 100 Children's Classics list. Dianne Hofmeyr lives in west London.

JESSE HODGSON graduated in 2012 with a First class BA (Hons) in Illustration from the University of the West of England, Bristol. Her first picture book, Pongo, which was Highly Commended in the Macmillan Children’s Book Awards 2012, was published by Flying Eye Books in 2013 and has since been published in Germany and Korea. Jesse lives and works in Bristol as an illustrator and music teacher. She makes her images using colouring pencils and also works with inks and print. Jesse Hodgson lives in Bristol. 

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