The Last Tiger

In The Last Tiger, a fable written by author and illustrator Petr Horacek, a prideful tiger roams the jungle grounds. His peers warn him when hunters come near. With arrogance, he ignores their sage advice to hide, for he is the strongest and most powerful of all. After devising a clever plan, the men return to the jungle and capture the tiger. They display him in the city for all to see. Behind the metal stakes of his enclosure, he falls into despair and gradually loses what he savored most – his strength and power. Once his body becomes nearly half the size it was, he squeezes through the bars, escaping to freedom at last. It becomes his most precious commodity.

This is a thoughtful book centered on a timeless message – the blessing of freedom far outweighs that of strength and power. In the end, those mean little in contrast. A secondary lesson can be extrapolated from the text as well: Arrogance often leads to undesirable ends. These valuable truisms taught through simple words and elaborately illustrated pages, provide young children with a rich source of wisdom. This tale will appeal to children ages five to nine. The brevity of it as well as the uniqueness of the illustrations will be likely be their favorite features. Horacek’s style has some resemblance to that of Eric Carle, a beloved author and illustrator of young children’s books.