May 12, 2026 by Nancy Paulsen Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Rohan is excited to be able to spend his winter break with his grandmother and grandfather in India. Not only does he get to escape his twin siblings in Houston, but he gets to visit the Vanraj sanctuary where his grandfather is the director, and is known as Tiger Man. There is one tiger, Arya, who has just had cubs. Rohan's cousin Mira visits from Bengaluru, and the two are excited to hang out at the preserve, visit the village school where their grandmother volunteers, and eat the delicious food that Seema the cool makes. The grandfather is worried that a development being planned for twenty kilometers away is too close, since animals need to be able to safely travel around, and development always produces roads that can be very dangerous. Local people support the development because it will mean more jobs and economic prosperity, so there are some protests. An intern, Kiran, joins park rangers Shiva and Anita to try to keep the are safe for tigers, and security cameras are installed to keep track of the area, but there are snares found in the jungle. Not only that, but Arya becomes ill and dies, and seems to have been poisoned. Luckily, her sister, Sita, is nearby, and takes in the cubs. Rohan returns home after break, but is glad to know that his grandfather is able to remain at Vanraj, and the mining is put on hold. This ends with some very good notes about tigers in India.
I'm a big fan of children visiting grandparents in other countries, and I love that both the grandmother and grandfather were very active in their community. I learned a lot about tigers in India, and enjoyed seeing Rohan and Mira work together to keep Arya and her cubs safe. I do wish there had been a recipe for the guava fudge that was mentioned! This is a great choice for readers who enjoyed Kadarusman's 2025 Music for Tigers or Perkins's 2015 Tiger Boy.
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