Tae Keller

A hopeful, heartwarming story of a girl discovering her family's past and present when she makes a deal with a magical tiger from her grandmother's stories, the Korean version of "Once upon a time . . ." Some stories refuse to stay bottled up... When Lily and her family move in with her sick grandmother, a magical tiger straight out of her halmoni's Korean folktales arrives. The tiger offers Lily a deal- if Lily will open her grandmother's star jars and return what she stole, the tiger will heal her grandmother. But deals with tigers are never what they seem! With the help of her sister and her new friend Ricky, Lily must find her voice . . . and the courage to face a tiger. Tae Keller, the award-winning author of The Science of Breakable Things, shares a sparkling tale about the power of stories and the magic of family.Think Walk Two Moons meets Where the Mountain Meets the Moon!

When You Trap a Tiger

WINNER OF THE NEWBERY MEDAL • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN AWARD FOR CHILDREN'S LITERATURE Would you make a deal with a magical tiger? This uplifting story brings Korean folklore to life as a girl goes on a quest to unlock the power of stories and save her grandmother. Some stories refuse to stay bottled up... When Lily and her family move in with her sick grandmother, a magical tiger straight out of her halmoni's Korean folktales arrives, prompting Lily to unravel a secret family history. Long, long ago, Halmoni stole something from the tigers. Now they want it back. And when one of the tigers approaches Lily with a deal--return what her grandmother stole in exchange for Halmoni's health--Lily is tempted to agree. But deals with tigers are never what they seem! With the help of her sister and her new friend Ricky, Lily must find her voice...and the courage to face a tiger. Tae Keller, the award-winning author of The Science of Breakable Things, shares a sparkling tale about the power of stories and the magic of family. Think Walk Two Moons meets Where the Mountain Meets the Moon! "If stories were written in the stars ... this wondrous tale would be one of the brightest." --Booklist, Starred Review

(Winner of the 2021 Newbery Medal)

Korean culture, coming to terms with a loved one’s sickness and death, family/sisters, coming of age

Rachel B

Written by an author who is a quarter Korean wanting to embrace this culture of South Korea, the novel explores these mythical elements that Korea has in a grounded realistic perspective.

The story is sweet yet filled with this poignancy. I think many times people dismiss books written for middle schoolers as being too simple, or not having profound thought behind them, but this novel says otherwise. It deals with very real themes such as death and new environments through this innocent perspective of someone who is dealing with these events for the first time and coming to terms with it, allowing the readers to also reflect on these themes as well.

The magical realism is interwoven cleverly and elevates this perspective. Its uncertainty in how real the scenario that happens reflects the uncertainty that Lily, the main character, feels. This aspect also heavily references Korean mythology although not overtly. It’s beautifully done and adds to the small grandiosity that this novel encompasses.

Additionally, the relationships in this novel are absolutely lovely and are at the forefront of this novel. Familial relationships have always meant a lot to me and this novel does a great job of showing how family can be difficult but also the beauty and solidarity that happens at the same time. It’s done in a clever manner where we can see how all of the family members are feeling and responding to the events that occur, even if the protagonist may not. Moving homes also mean a new town and new people, and so we see Lily grapple with the process of making new friends, something that anyone can relate to. It’s very wholesome yet real.

If you’re looking for a quick read that will tug on your heartstrings, I highly recommend checking out this book.

maddie

Written by an author who is a quarter Korean wanting to embrace this culture of South Korea, the novel explores these mythical elements that Korea has in a grounded realistic perspective.

The story is sweet yet filled with this poignancy. I think many times people dismiss books written for middle schoolers as being too simple, or not having profound thought behind them, but this novel says otherwise. It deals with very real themes such as death and new environments through this innocent perspective of someone who is dealing with these events for the first time and coming to terms with it, allowing the readers to also reflect on these themes as well.
The magical realism is interwoven cleverly and elevates this perspective. Its uncertainty in how real the scenario that happens reflects the uncertainty that Lily, the main character, feels. This aspect also heavily references Korean mythology although not overtly. It’s beautifully done and adds to the small grandiosity that this novel encompasses.
Additionally, the relationships in this novel are absolutely lovely and are at the forefront of this novel. Familial relationships have always meant a lot to me and this novel does a great job of showing how family can be difficult but also the beauty and solidarity that happens at the same time. It’s done in a clever manner where we can see how all of the family members are feeling and responding to the events that occur, even if the protagonist may not. Moving homes also mean a new town and new people, and so we see Lily grapple with the process of making new friends, something that anyone can relate to. It’s very wholesome yet real.
If you’re looking for a quick read that will tug on your heartstrings, I highly recommend checking out this book.

renee badenoch

I really liked this one. It was a bit slow to get started at first, but by the ending I was completely absorbed. 

It's a bit hard to classify in genre. It is a fantasy book based on Korean fairy-tale traditions about a girl discovering the secrets of her ancestors and her magical connection to the Tiger Gods. But a lot of the magic is surreal, uncertain, unclear, invisible. And a lot of it is metaphor: just like the fairy tale of a half-human/half-tiger woman, the main character feels herself torn between her conflicting identities. The book is about grief, about facing the past, about letting go, and about embracing change. It's also about the way that stories help us understand who we are, and give us a vision for who to be in the future. It's a book that's thematically dense, while still being interesting, and ultimately hopeful.

Ashley Wendt

This was beautiful and heartbreaking and so relatable. It was magical and nuanced and hopeful. I went into this book blind. I didn’t read any reviews or read the synopsis at all. I wanted to experience everything that made it a Newbery winner. I’m still swallowing tears and processing the feelings and emotions it brought on about my own grandmother and how our ancestry has shaped our story.

Mabel Palomera

Kim Tyo-Dickerson

Read this haunting, metaphor-laced story about family, loss, and claiming one's own story in a combination of audiobook and print. I now know why this stunning middle grade novel won the Newbery Medal this year. Both formats are highly recommended for readers ages 10+.

In fact, just a few days after finishing this book and it was still in my house, I passionately booktalked it to my daughter's friend-who-is-my-student, who slept over and is from Korea and needed to know about this book and was still in her pajamas, and all this while she was standing in our kitchen that morning eating leftover popcorn. 

There is no escape from the librarian wanting to booktalk.

hossein moazzeni

این اواخر دلم یک رمان نوجوان زیبا می‌خواست. تصمیم گرفتم از بین نویسندگانِ کتاب‌های نوجوان قبلی‌ای که خوانده بودم، یکی را انتخاب کنم و کتاب جدیدی را از او شروع کنم.
این کتاب را پیدا کردم و دیدم جایزه نیوبری را هم برده. ولی چون 2020 چاپ شده بود، فکر نمیکردم ترجمه هم شده باشد. با این‌که کمی بعد از شروع کردن و خواندن متن انگلیسی‌ش فهمیدم که ترجمه‌اش هم در بازار هست، همان را ادامه دادم.
واقعا هنرمندانه بود. ایده‌ی کتاب، شیوه نگارشش و رئالیسم جادویی فوق‌العاده‌ش، خیلی ساختارمند بود و ایمانم را به کتاب‌های نوجوان زیبا بیشتر کرد.‌

Lindsay Danforth

This is such a beautiful, heartwarming story. I absolutely loved it!

Lynn Braden

Lily, along with her mother and her sister, Sam go to stay with her halmoni or grandmother. While she is there she encounters a tiger that nobody else can see, but the tiger makes a deal with Lily to bring her stories trapped in jars, and she will help her halmoni. Each night, Lily opens a jar and releases the stories for the tiger to tell, but her halmoni's heath continues to deteriorate. Lily begins to wonder if maybe trusting the tiger was the wrong thing to do.

When You Trap a Tiger is filled with symbolism and lessons about growing up and accepting change. Much of what is in the story comes from Korean folklore and shows that many stories are universal. At the same time, Lily is learning to let go of her youth and realize that life moves forward whether we want it to or not. For a book written for middle grade readers, some of the ideas presented in the story might be a little too abstract, but overall, When You Trap a Tiger is an interesting story interwoven with many life changing themes. 3 1/2 stars.

Lili

this is not what i was promised and i am too emotionally disturbed to rate this thing right now

When You Trap a Tiger

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