by Moe Zilla

Created on: March 09, 2010

Pulak Biswas was 66 years old, and had already had a long career as a children's book illustrator in India. But in 1996 he teamed up with Anushka Ravishankar to produce "Tiger on a Tree." I was thrilled when I found a copy at my local public library and finally got a chance to see his exotic artwork. Biswas originally published this book in Chennai, India, and it didn't reach America until 2004!

"Tiger, tiger on the shore. Does he want to go across?" The book offers up playful rhymes, and Biswas supplies each one with an appropriate illustration. The text is simple, and so are the drawings - but the story's direction is unmistakable. "Splash!" appears in big letters across the next page - as the tiger cross the river for a hunting expedition. "Baaaaaaaa" wails a goat on the next page. But in a surprising twist, he's apparently frightened the tiger away, as the tiger scrambles up into a tree.

Biswas used woodblock prints for the drawings, and they're remarkably artistic. He uses just two colors - red and black - but the splotches of red suggest stripes along the tiger's white body. Black wavy lines become the water, and the sun is a big red circle in the sky. With careful lines, he creates details like the leaves in a tree or the grassy jungle ground. And he manages to suggest that there's more in the white space surrounding his images.

The tiger has a real personality, shown by his big eyes and a smile-shaped mouth. At other times, it's turned down in a frown - showing surprise or disappointment. And his tail curves playfully, like he's just a big cat. It's not until the book's halwayf point that a human character enters the story. And even then, Biswas shows their frightened expression with just the shape of their mouth and their eyes.

"Tiger! Tiger? On a tree!"

A group of villagers debates their next move in short, squabbly sentences - and soon Biswas is drawing all the detailed red lines for a fine mesh net. ("Get him! Net him! Tie him tight!") There's an imposing two-page drawing of red net encircling the tiger's tree, propped up by 34 black sticks and surrounded by seventeen villagers. When they've scared the tiger from the tree, he's shown tangled up in a page filled with the net's red diamonds. But in a pleasant surprise, the villagers vote to set him free - and the book ends exactly where it began.

"Tiger, tiger on the shore..."

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