Tiger Trap. Eric Walters. Toronto, ON: Scholastic Canada, 2007/2013. 196 pp., pbk. & html, $7.99 (pbk.). ISBN 978-1-4431-2415-7 (pbk.), ISBN 978-1-4431-3302-9 (html). Grades 3-6 / Ages 8-11. Review by Tanya Boudreau. *** /4

excerpt:

“I went on the Net and checked out other zoos and exotic animal parks that operate in the same climate as us, and that was their average decline in attendance.”

“I didn’t know,” my mother said. “I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay,” I mumbled back. I usually felt bad right after I snapped at her, but it was even worse when she apologized. “It’s just that we have to get financially ahead during the good weather so we have extra money we can use when attendance is down.”

“And that’s not happening?” my mother asked.

“We’re just holding even.”

“You can’t be spending much on food,” Martin said. “Those arrangements I made are sufficient, aren’t they?”

“I’d hate to think what things would be like without those arrangements,” I said.

Nick and Sarah Fraser are trying to be creative in raising much needed funds for Tiger Town, but selling ice cream bars is not the answer. In this fourth book in the series, Mr. McCurdy has opened up his farm (now called Tiger Town) to even more exotic animals. His heart may be big, but he’s running out of space to put all the rescue animals that desperately need homes. When a shady character comes into town, 14-year-old Sarah senses he’s up to no good, but the other workers on the farm (even her 11-year-old brother Nick) think Anthony’s business ideas are brilliant. He does raise money so vet bills can be paid and new enclosures can be built on the farm, but his demeanor is cold, and he doesn’t seem to care about the animals. He’s all about making money. It’s no wonder Sarah jumps to conclusions when he forbids anyone from coming into Tiger Town because of a “parrot infection”, and yet she spies trucks going in and out all the time. After Nick does some spying on his own from up in a tree, he helps his sister figure out what’s really going on in Tiger Town. The business may be making money, but at what cost?

     In this book, children will learn a little bit about selling and trading exotic animals (alive and dead) for money. Animal facts are incorporated throughout each title, and in Tiger Trap, kangaroos and tigers are the focus. As the story draws to a close, readers may anticipate an unhappy ending, but Anthony turns out to be a good guy, not the enemy, and with the help of the real animals’ lovers and workers in Tiger Town, many people involved in the killing of exotic animals are brought to justice.

Recommended.

Tanya Boudreau is a librarian at the Cold Lake Public Library in Cold Lake, AB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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