- Category: Newberry Winner
- Targeted Age Group: 9-12
- Summary
When you Trap a Tiger follows the story of Lily and her family as they move in with her grandma. After the move Lily finds out that her grandma is sick and with the help of stories and maybe a little magic Lily tries to help her grandma get better.
- Justification
I chose this story because it won the Newbery Medal in 2021. I was also interested in the magical realism genre. In the past I have been very black and white with my interest in genres pertaining to the books I have chosen. They were either realistic fiction or fantasy. Magical Realism, though fantasy, is just realistic enough where you almost question the magical elements. It was an interesting reading experience.
- Characters
In this story Lily’s sister, Sam, can be seen as a foil to Lily. Lily is more withdrawn and reserved while Sam can be very explosive and quick to share her opinions and feelings. Lily and Sam are continuously characterized as opposites to each other within the story. For example, their grandma refers to Sam as the sun and Lily as the moon. Their opposing natures are a source of tension between the two sisters and as the story progresses, they have to learn to lean on each other and put their differences aside. They also learn from each other and Lily learns from Sam how to be more vocal about her needs while Sam learns from Lily how to be more considerate towards other people’s feelings.
- Plot
When you Trap a Tiger uses Korean folk stories and the art of storytelling to give background information, explain events, flesh out characters, and move the story along. Each time Lily hears a new story she learns something new about herself or she gains some insight into the problems she faces. The use of stories and storytelling are plot devices used to explain various character’s viewpoints and motivations. Stories are also used as a way to advance the plot. Various important story beats are explained through stories that the main characters share with each other.
- Theme
There are a few themes that show up throughout the story. The theme that has the biggest impact on the story and the characters is family legacy. A main plot point of the story is that Lily’s grandmother is very sick, and Lily’s family must learn how to cope with potentially losing her and cherish the time they have left. Throughout the book there is an emphasis placed on various ideas and activities that are passed down from older family members like family recipes, stories, family history, and cultural practices. An example of the theme of family legacy in the story can clearly be seen in the cultural practice of kosas and family recipes. Kosa is explained in the story as an offering of food made to ancestral spirits in times of change. Lily and her family participate in a kosa many times throughout the story. There are also examples throughout the story of times when family members lost or forgot aspects of their family legacy. The two examples of lost family legacy in the story are family history and family recipes. Lily’s grandmother is reluctant to share her past with her family because of some of the sadness she faced.
- References
Keller, T. (2020). When you trap a tiger. Random House Books for Young Readers.
Scholastic. (n.d.). When you trap a tiger. Retrieved November 6, 2024 from https://shop.scholastic.com/parent-ecommerce/books/when-you-trap-a-tiger-9781524715700.html
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