Tigeropolis: Review of a beautiful book

Aimed at seven to eleven-year-olds, this fun-filled adventure is all about a family of plucky, vegetarian tigers, living in the foothills of the Himalayas, who are smarter than they may look.

Pub. Date: 15 April 2019 / ISBN: 978-0-9927462-3-0 / Price: £7.99

Tigeropolis: Caught in the Trap Synopsis

As much as Bittu, Matti, their mother, Tala and Uncle Raj, love lazing in the sun and frolicking in the long grass, they are forced to take the initiative to keep the home and friends they love, safe.

When they realise an international gang of notorious poachers are at work in the park and will stop at nothing when it comes to making money and getting their own way, Bittu and Matti know they are in trouble.

While it should be the Forest Guards who catch the evil gang, they would rather drink tea and eat cake, so the tigers take on the task themselves and with the help of a troupe of bungee jumping monkeys, a team of burrowing pygmy hogs, and four elephant-powered water cannons, finally win through.

Our thoughts on Tigeropolis: Caught in the Trap

This is the 3rd book in the series and even though we've not read the other two books, we picked up the storyline just fine.

My son is seven and is working his way through this book, only get stuck on a few words but enjoying the story. He's quite a sensitive boy, so got quite upset to hear about the poachers wanting the tigers for their skins.

It has raise decisions at home, that this does happen, and why it is so important to protect and help our wildlife. We watch a lot of blue planet and animal documentaries so this has just increased his awareness of how precious our world is.

There is much humour to the book too, and we all fell in love with the tiger cubs Bittu and Matti, as well as the many animals that pull together to get rid of the poachers. We are now looking forward to sharing this book at school and purchasing the first two books in the series.

About the Author: Richard Dikstra

The popular BBC Sunday evening programme, Dynasties, is about a family of tigers living in Bandhavgarh - the park that inspired Tigeropolis. This is where the author encountered his first live tiger and it sparked a passion in him for conservation, protecting tigers and storytelling for children.

Richard Dikstra said, “When you have been that close to an animal as majestic as a tiger in their natural environment, you realise how important it is to ensure that they can be seen in the wild, not just in books like mine. The Tigeropolis series follows Bittu and Matti on their adventures and while they don’t always get things right, they mean well and have fun while they are trying to do good.”

He added, “Caught in the Trap is a fun and enjoyable book that is meant to gently show the real threat of poachers and how their greed can impact the natural world. It is the third book we’ve released in the Tigeropolis series, but each book can be read as a standalone and in any order. I hope that readers, big and small, will enjoy the story, but also think about how important it is to look after the planet we live in and protect the animals that make it so special, so future generations can enjoy them too.”

For more details on the Tigeropolis series, why not pop over to the website, where you can learn all about the characters, fun facts, Tiger conservation and even download a tiger mask to make.