Unlike the rest of her nature-obsessed family, Louisa wants to be a musician, not a biologist.
But when Louisa’s mother finds out that the Australian government is about to destroy the Tasmanian rainforest camp their family has managed for decades, she insists that Louisa leave Toronto and spend the summer on the strange, small island with her even stranger uncle Ruff. But when Uncle Ruff gives Louisa a copy of her great-grandmother’s journal, Louisa becomes fascinated with her family’s history of secretly protecting endangered species, including the mysterious Tasmanian tiger, widely regarded as extinct. With the help of her new friend and neighbor Colin—a boy who has autism spectrum disorder—Louisa deepens her connection with her family’s land, with history, and with her love of music. Kadarusman masterfully creates a lush, magical world where issues associated with conservation, neurodiversity, and history intersect in surprising and authentic ways. The book’s small cast of characters (principals seem all White) is well drawn and endearing. Crucially, the author acknowledges the original, Indigenous inhabitants of the land as experts, something rarely seen in books about environmental degradation. Louisa’s narratorial voice strikes the right balance of curiosity, timidity, and growing confidence, and her character’s transformation feels both incredibly natural and incredibly rewarding to behold. A beautiful conservation story told in a rich setting and peopled with memorable characters.
i thought it was a pritty good book but i was not really a fan of it but it was ok
Music for Tigers is an amazing book about mystery and action. The story is about a girl who was just visiting her Uncle Ruff to make new friends and the Tasmanian Tigers and Devils.
In the book it talks about a girl called Louisa who loves to play the violin, goes to visit Uncle Ruff. Uncle Ruff lives in the wild, Louisa is very cautious about going to the wild and living in the middle of almost nowhere. Soon later she meets a boy named Colin who she isn’t very sure of yet. One day Louisa was practicing violin for her audition at the Toronto Youth Symphony Orchestra when she saw big dark eyes peering at her. Would those eyes be connected to the Tasmanian Tigers?
I really enjoyed reading this book, it was well written and very detailed and descriptive. It was very interesting and told me about Tasmanian Tigers and Tasmanian Devils.
-Grade 6 student
[Ruff said,] “I know. You have questions. But there’s a lot more to the story and Piggy isn’t the first one. But there’s a lot more to the story and Piggy isn’t even the beginning. It starts with Shadow. … Shadow was the first tiger.”
(Kadarusman, Music for Tigers 2021)
Middle-school student Louisa wants to spend the summer practicing violin for a place in the youth symphony but is instead sent to the Tasmanian rainforest camp of her Australian relatives. There she learns that her family secretly protects the last of the supposedly extinct Tasmanian tigers, also known as the thylacine. When an encroaching mining operation threatens the hidden sanctuary, Louisa realizes her music can help and plays Waltzing Matilda at the current sanctuary, Convict Rock, to entice Ellie the thylacine to enter her eccentric uncle Ruff’s trap and lead her to safety. While she does this, she meets Colin, diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, she also helps him overcome his unawareness of social interaction, later becoming his best friend.
The book is very educational and talks about diverse topics. For one, it centers around environmental issues. By introducing the topic of caring for animals extinct in the wild, it explores the realm of saving the environment and how we can save these nearly extinct creatures. It also tries to encourage the reader to learn more about how to preserve animals. By portraying how human intervention could possibly harm or save animals, it reminds us to be mindful of the environment and make sure we do not destroy it.
It also talks about overcoming your own fears. When Louisa plays for Ellie, she isn’t inclined to play for her. Even if she was instead playing for a human (reducing her fear for her life), she is infected with performance anxiety but is scared to tell anyone about this. While she attempts to help Colin, she remarks on his courage to ask others for help when it is needed, to which he replies that she is, in fact, brave, as she “keeps trying, and doing something despite being afraid is the definition of bravery.” (Kadrusman, 2021). This inspires her to acknowledge her fears, and try her best to overcome them.
The diverse topics covered in this book, and the descriptive adjective all move along the story, and makes it a great book overall. It makes this book enjoyable to read for any person aged eight to eighty and earns my recommendation.
— Sixth-Grader
Middle-schooler Louisa wants to spend the summer practicing violin so that she can earn a place in the youth symphony, but is instead sent to the Tasmanian rainforest camp of her Australian relatives. After a few days, her Uncle Ruff hands her a few pages of a diary entry that was written by her grandmother, Eleanor. Then she learns that her family secretly protects the last of the apparently extinct Tasmanian tigers and many other exotic creatures.
“Music for Tigers” is a lovely paperback with an exciting plot and bright characters to set the mood of the story.
One of the things that make this book so enjoyable is the way that the author put a very good hook in the story which made me want to keep on reading it. Even though in some parts of the story it did get slightly boring there was always and good part to look forward to.
Another thing that supports my opinion is the fact that the characters have the perfect amount of everything, like take speech as an example because they (as in the characters) don’t talk too much or too little. Also, there are enough characters to keep the reader interested. If there were too many characters then it would be hard to remember everything and might get overwhelming and pretty boring, but if there weren’t enough characters the book would start to feel like just a bunch of words.
So in conclusion “Music For Tigers” is a thrilling book full of wonderful characters and a quality and a well-built plot to top it all off. I would definitely recommend this book if you are someone who admires books that include nature, adventure, and friendship. Why would I suggest this book, glad you asked, I would recommend it because it is a book that is satisfactory for kids and adults alike. Also, “Music for Tigers” is just a naturally compelling story.
Music for tigers is a interesting book and if anyone hasn’t read it i suggest you read it its good
-By Lucus Hebert