When You Trap a Tiger

“Long, long ago, when tiger walked like man…”

The summer before grade 7, Lily, her sister, and her widowed mother move in to take care of their elderly grandmother, Halmoni. We first meet the family on their drive up from California to Washington State when Lily sees a tiger in the middle of the road and talks to it. Soon bedtime stories swirl with reality as Lily wonders what is true and what is false. Trapping and striking a deal with this tiger, she agrees to find the story jars, open them, and (this is the hardest part) listen to their stories. Thinking by doing so, Halmoni will be healed, Lily listens to these stories fueled by Korean folklore. Ages 10-14.

Newbery Award Winner.