The Tiger Rising
Kate DiCamillo
 Rob Horton is 14 years old and lives with his father in a Florida motel called the Kentucky Star. The father and son have recently moved to Lister, Florida, after the death of Rob’s mother. In the woods near the motel Rob discovers a live tiger in a cage. On the same day he discovers the tiger, Rob meets Sistine Bailey a new girl in school with an angry temper. Rob, having an unnamed skin condition, is asked by the principal to stay home from school until his rash clears up. Rob’s rash is a visible display of his emotional denial as he packs away his difficult feelings in an imaginary suitcase. Rob sees his exile from school as a reprieve, for he is bullied constantly by the other kids at his middle school. Sistine visits Rob daily saying she is bringing him homework. Rob is given the duty of feeding the tiger by the unscrupulous motel manager, Beauchamp With the assistance of Rob, Sistine plots and attempts to set the tiger free. The act of setting the tiger free allows Rob to let go of the painful emotions related to his mother’s death that he has suppressed. However, Rob's dad finds the tiger in the woods and kills it by shooting it. Rob, Sistine, Willie May and Rob's father had a funeral for the tiger, which reminded rob of his mothers funeral. Theme:Their's a lesson to everything Rob.