Light-hearted Story Tells Kids It’s OK to Be Different

A Tiger Tail (Or What Happened to Anya on Her First Day of School)  

By Mike Boldt

Simon & Schuster for Young Readers, 2016

Ages: 4-8

Anya wakes up on the first day of school and discovers she has grown a tiger tail. She is horrified. What will she do?

Her parents aren’t any help. They tell her not to worry it looks nice with her hair. She’s the same wonderful Anya she’s always been.

She tries to pull it off but it’s firmly attached. She tries to cover it up with clothes, but it pokes through. She’ll pretend to be sick, but mom makes her go to school. She misses the bus on purpose, but dad drives her to school.

At school, she crashes into a boy. They introduce themselves. His name is Ben and he has rabbit ears. In the class picture, she fits right in. Other children are unique too. Another boy has big furry ears. A girl is in a wheelchair. Another boy wears large glasses.

“Maybe a tiger tail wasn’t so bad,” she thinks. “After all, it did go well with her hair.”

The colorful expressive pictures complement the humorous story. They actively move the story along.

Without being heavy-handed, the story tells children that it’s OK to be different.

About the Author/Illustrator:

Mike Boldt is the author and illustrator of “123 versus ABC” and the illustrator of “I Don’t Want to Be a Frog,” among others. He lives in Stony Plain, Alberta, with his wife and three children. The first day of school tended to make him a little nervous too. Learn more at mikeboldt.ca.