Tiger Ann Parker is a twelve-year-old girl with an unusual name living an unusual life. Her mother and father are both mentally slow, and they live with Granny, who oversees the household and basically is the only adult. Tiger’s parents love her deeply, but aren’t capable of giving her the care she needs, and Tiger spends much of her time caring for her mother instead, who is mentally six years old. Tiger’s father has a job at a nearby nursery and is a real whiz with the plants, but he can’t read or write at all.
When Tiger was younger, she didn’t even know there was anything different between her mother and all the other mothers in town, but as she’s gotten older, she’s heard the other children make comments and giggle behind her back. Sometimes she resents her mother for being so immature, but at other times, the purity of her mother’s love touches her deeply. She would do anything for her family.
When Granny suddenly passes away, Tiger’s mother goes into a deep depression and refuses to bathe or change her clothes. When Aunt Dorie Kay pulls in, all prettied up and capable, she takes matters into her own hands and decides that Tiger should come live with her in Baton Rouge. She takes Tiger for a visit, and Tiger is in heaven. There are so many stores, and Dorie Kay has indoor plumbing, and this could be a whole new start for Tiger. But she realizes that her heart and her home are back with her parents, and, knowing the additional work it will mean for her, she decides to stay at home.
This was a deeply touching and very human book. And I’m glad I liked it – my two-year-old scribbled in it, so I’ll be buying it from the library.
(This book was published in 1998 by Dell Yearling.)
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