Tiny Tiger Says Why Can’t I?
by Smriti Halls, illustrated by Steve Small
Interest age: 2 to 5
Published by Simon and Schuster, 2025
About this book
Tiny Tiger is a bundle of wants. He really wants all the cake and the ice cream and he wants to live on the moon, drive the car, and wear pyjamas to school. And he can’t see why his parents keep saying NO to all of those brilliant and delicious things. Why can’t he do everything he wants?
Yet one day, when Tiny Tiger climbs a huge slide, he gets to the top and realises that he actually doesn’t want to go down it: it’s too scary and high up there!
Luckily, Mum and Dad are there to help him down. Tiny Tiger reflects that sometimes, maybe Mum and Dad do know best, after all, and resolves to do his best to be delightful, calm, and kind… most of the time.
Smriti Halls is a genius at rhyming text in board books for toddlers and pre-schoolers, and her bouncy, perfectly pitched rhyme in Tiny Tiger Says Why Can’t I? is no exception.
It’s a super fun book to read aloud with just the right level of interesting words – fluffy sock, cookie dough, trampoline – plus an adorable and relatable main character that young readers will empathise with deeply.
This is also one of many books that Halls and illustrator Steve Small have made together, and the warm, characterful artwork is a perfect fit for a story about being brave enough to ask for help, and learning that there might be reasons why we don’t always get to do what we want to.
About the author
More books like this
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I'm Sticking With You
by Smriti Halls, illustrated by Steve Small
4 to 7 years
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Barbara Throws A Wobbler
by Nadia Shireen
2 to 7 years
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Bedtime for Little Digger
by Smriti Halls, illustrated by Sue Hendra
2 to 4 years
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One in a Million
by Smriti Halls, illustrated by Nila Aye
4 to 5 years
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