The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr is an impossibly possible story that captures the essence of childhood. This tale of a family who receive a dangerously exciting visitor opens up the imagination and views the world through a child’s eyes.
Sophie and her mummy sit down in the kitchen to have their tea when the doorbell rings. Who could it be?
Sophie opened the door, and there was a big, furry, stripy tiger.
The tiger asks, very politely, if he can come in for tea. Sophie’ s mummy agrees and the tiger sits down at the table.
The tiger’s veneer of politeness is quickly broken when Sophie’s mummy offers him a sandwich and he then proceeds to eat all the sandwiches on the plate, all the buns, all the biscuits and all the cake, until there is nothing left to eat on the table!
Sophie’s mummy offers the tiger a drink but he doesn’t just have a polite sip of tea. No! The tiger drinks all the tea in the teapot and all the milk in the milk jug.
Still unsatisfied the tiger starts to explore the kitchen. He eats all the food in the saucepans and the fridge, all the packets and tins in the cupboards, all the orange juice, all Daddy’s beer and all the water in the tap! What a greedy tiger!
Then, as quickly as he arrived, the tiger takes his leave and goes. Behind him is a trail of destruction and Sophie can’t even have a bath as the tiger drank all the water in the tap.
When Sophie’s daddy gets home they tell him about their extraordinary visitor. Dad decides that they should go to a café for supper. They all put on their coats and venture out into the dark streets and have sausages, chips and ice cream.
The next day Sophie and her mummy go shopping to re-stock the cupboards and they also buy a very big tin of Tiger Food, just in case!
Talk about
Children revel in delight at the idea of such a naughty (and potentially dangerous) guest gorging himself on the entire contents of the house. Children never fail to get the joke and this incredible situation is usually met with howls of laughter. The story is deceptively simple and fantastic fun, although it might be criticised for being a little dated, I think it is still a wonderful whimsical tale. Our copy is treasured and read over and over again.
Here are some ideas or questions that you might want to use to start a discussion in your family. You know your family and which questions they are ready to tackle now and which can be left for another day:
- How would you feel if a tiger came to your door and asked to come in for tea?
- What would you do?
- Do you think that your Mummy or Daddy would let the tiger in?
- Would you let the tiger eat all the food and drink all the drink?
- Is the tiger a good guest?
- How would the tiger behave differently if he was a good guest?
- If the tiger was well-behaved would the story be as funny?
- Who would you invite to your own tea party?
- What do you think would happen at your tea party?
- If you could go out to a restaurant and order anything at all, what would you order?
Crafts and activities for kids
The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr is thrilling for young children and also has enough warmth to ensure that the reader feels safe and able to enjoy the antics of the greedy tiger.
Take a look at the Pinterest Board full of crafts and activities for kids or take a look at the activities below, to accompany reading the book:
- Read and Create Easy Paper Tiger
- Read and Create Easy Tiger Craft for Kids
- Red Ted Art Tiger Bubble Wrap Printing
- Red Ted Art Paper Tea Cups
- Fun Crafts Kids Toilet Paper Teacups
- Look, Love, Create Tiger Collage
- Rainy Day Mum Tiger Animal Skin
- Nurture Store Tiger Finger Puppet
- Play, Create, Explore Shaving Cream Marbling Tiger
- Activity Village Wooden Spoon Tiger
Have you read any exciting stories this week?
The post The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr appeared first on Read and Create.