“I look like a girl / but I’m really a tiger, with a rumble, a roar, and a leap!” With these words we are invited into the imaginary play worlds of several active girls who imagine themselves a dolphin, horse, condor, jaguar and wolf. The strength of these young feminists is reinforced with Hamanaka’s realistic paintings, as well as with her direct statements, such as “If you look twice past the sugar and spice / the eyes of a tiger you’ll see.” The lush oil paintings show all the creatures in their natural environments, be it the the jungle, a canyon or a plain kitchen table. (Ages 3-7)

In her imagination, a young girl assumes many shapes and forms, from dolphin and condor to wolf and jaguar.