ABOUT THIS BOOK

Tiger Ann Parker is smart in school and good at baseball, but she's forever teased about her family by the girls in class. Tiger Ann knows her folks are different from others in their small town of Saitter, Louisiana. They are mentally slow, and Tiger Ann keeps her pain and embarrassment hidden as long as her strong and smart Granny runs the household. Then Granny dies suddenly and Aunt Dorie Kay arrives, offering Tiger Ann a way out. Now Tiger Ann must make the most important decision of her life.


REVIEWS

"Making an unusually auspicious debut, Holt offers a unique coming-of-age tale . . . readers . . . will admire [Tiger's] courage, loyalty and love for her parents."--Publisher Weekly, Starred

"Holt . . . eases the action along with a low-key, unpretentious plot . . . uncannily credible characters."--The Horn Book Magazine, Starred

"Tiger has a distinctive voice, and her subtle observations include an increasing awareness of those marginalized by difference of class, race, and intelligence."--The Bulletin, Recommended


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The daughter of a Navy chief, Kimberly Willis Holt lived all over the world during her childhood. But Forest Hill, Louisiana, became the place she called home. "Forest Hill is the kind of town where neighbors care when you're sick and show up at your door with chicken and dumplings. I wanted Tiger to be from a place like that," says the author. She currently lives in Amarillo, Texas, with her family. This is her first novel for young readers. Her second novel, When Zachary Beaver Came to Town, won the National Book Award.


AWARDS

WINNER 1999 - Texas Lone Star Reading List
NOMINEE 2001 - Illinois Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Award
WINNER 2002 - Massachusetts Children's Book Master List