SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL (STARRED) -- Brremaud,Frederic. Love: The Tiger. illus. by Federico Bertolucci. 80p. (Love: Bk. 1.)Magnetic. 2015. Tr. $17.99. ISBN 9780991332441. Gr 4-6-This wordless story isthe first in a series of wildlife books that each focus on a day in the life ofa different wild animal in its natural habitat. A full-page panel of the junglesetting framed by lush limbs and vines gives readers a view that puts them intothe action from the very first page turn. Only a few words of text on thededication page set the tone for this series by enforcing the idea that animalsdon't deal in love and hate; rather, they exist in a delicate balance thatrecognizes both parts as a universal or ?elemental love.? The first animal whocomes into view is the majestic Bengal tiger who is the main character of thefirst volume. The tiger expertly hunts a tapir who manages a risky, butsuccessful, escape via waterfall. As the story progresses, readers areintroduced to many predator and prey relationships that support the overalltheme of balance in the animal kingdom. There are multiple scenes of violence inwhich animals battle, sometimes to the death, though there is not too muchbloodshed. Death is represented by the stillness of the creature that loses abattle as opposed to a complete destruction. Once a death has occurred, thepacing moves the story forward gracefully and there isn't much time to dwell onan animal's passing. The book ends with a scene of violence in which the tigerattacks a human who is cleaning his weapon and preparing the skin of a recentlyslain beast. An excerpt from The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri bookends thistale with thoughts on death and nature. The finely detailed watercolor artworkthat offers unique perspectives and close-up views of jungle life combined withexpertly controlled pacing gives this graphic novel a nature documentary feel.This book was originally published in France in 2011, and it received thespecial jury selection award at the Festival of Comics in Italy of that sameyear. VERDICT This beautiful slice-of-life graphic novel presents a realisticview of the balance between predator and prey in the jungle and would be a niceaddition to most collections.-Samantha Lumetta, Public Library of Cincinnati andHamilton County, OH
