The Tiger Rising

The Tiger Rising is a children’s novel by two-time Newbery Award-medalist, Kate DiCamillo. Published in 2001, The Tiger Rising is DiCamillo’s second book and was a National Book Award Finalist. Following the death of his mother, 12-year-old Rob Horton packs away his grief the way he packs his clothes when he and his father move to Lister, Florida. However, Rob’s discovery of a caged tiger in the woods and the friendship of an angry girl named Sistine begin to crack his emotional shell. As their friendship grows, Rob and Sistine face a difficult decision to free the tiger or leave it caged. Their choice has far-reaching consequences. The third-person narrative centers on Rob’s journey to reconnect with his feelings and memories. Writing in a warm, Southern dialect with simple but emotionally-resonant prose, DiCamillo examines the nature of grieving and the healing power of relationships.

Plot Summary

Rob misses his mother, Caroline, who died of cancer six months ago. At her funeral, Rob cried so hard that his father, Robert Horton, slapped him: Rob hasn’t cried since. Rob works hard mentally repressing all his thoughts and feelings about his mother, shutting them up in an imaginary suitcase and locking it shut. Rob and his father even moved away from Jacksonville, Florida, to escape memories of Caroline and get on with their lives. Now, Rob and his father live in the Kentucky Star Motel in Lister, Florida, where Rob’s father does maintenance work for the swaggering owner, Beauchamp.

Walking in the woods behind the motel one morning before school, Rob sees a tiger locked in a cage and can hardly believe his eyes. Now, Rob feels he has a special secret that will help him keep his other thoughts and feelings at bay. On the bus ride to school, he is bullied by Norton and Billy Threemonger, who call him names and make fun of the rash on Rob’s legs. Rob is used to the abuse and doesn’t respond. He is surprised when a new girl boards the bus, wearing a pink dress. The girl is in Rob’s homeroom class. She introduces herself as Sistine Bailey—named after the Sistine Chapel—and declares she hates everything about Lister.

Worried that the rash on Rob’s legs may be contagious, the principal, Mr. Phelmer, asks Rob to stay home until it clears up. Rob is overjoyed because he knows the rash will not go away. Rob hates the school, has no friends, and does not interact with other students. However, when Rob sees Sistine fighting some kids, to his surprise, he finds his voice and defends her. On the bus ride home, Sistine sits with him. Although her attitude is prickly, Sistine and Rob bond over a shared dislike of the school and a shared appreciation of art.

Robert agrees to let Rob stay home for a few days and help him with work around the motel. When Willie May, the Kentucky Star’s housekeeper, discovers that Rob is staying home because of his rash, she explains that his rash is an expression of his sadness, which he needs to let rise to his heart. Rob shares his secret about the tiger with Sistine, who believes Rob immediately and wants to see the tiger. Rob explains that Beauchamp owns the tiger, and Sistine declares they must set it free. Rob asks Willie May if she believes animals should be caged, and she tells him about Cricket, a green parakeet she had as a child. Willie May freed Cricket, but then realized the bird would not survive on its own.

Beauchamp hires Rob to feed the tiger and gives him the keys to the cage. When Sistine realizes Rob has the keys, she wants him to set the tiger loose. Rob initially refuses, but he and Sistine eventually open the tiger’s cage. At first, the tiger does not leave, though Rob and Sistine shout and rattle its cage. The tiger eventually runs away into the woods. Rob and Sistine hear Rob’s father call his name, a scream from Willie May, and the sound of a gunshot. Thankful that Rob and Sistine are alive, Willie May leads them to Rob’s father, who stands over the dead tiger. Rob angrily attacks his father, who doesn’t react. Rob shouts that he wishes his father had died instead of his mother and forces his father to say the name “Caroline.” Rob begins to cry, and his father cries too. Both confess they miss and need Caroline, but they have each other. Willie May admits that she told Rob’s father they were going to release the tiger so that he could save Rob.

Together, Rob, Sistine, Willie May, and Rob’s father bury the tiger and say a few words over its grave. Rob’s father sings to Rob that evening and tells him he will try harder to talk with Rob about Caroline. Rob dreams of Cricket, flying out of the tiger’s grave. The sun comes out the next morning, and Rob thinks positively about his future and his friendship with Sistine.