40 Fun Facts About The Tiger Rising

In The Tiger Rising, Rob imagines locking his painful feelings inside which everyday object?

A suitcase is where Rob stuffs every painful thought, and he scolds himself whenever a memory of his mother makes him open it. Meeting Sistine slowly loosens the lid.

What happens to the tiger moments after Rob and Sistine set it free in The Tiger Rising?

It is shot dead by Rob's father, who feared the animal would hurt or kill his son. The loss finally gets the two of them talking about Rob's mother.

Which singer and actress plays wise Willie May in the film adaptation of The Tiger Rising?

Queen Latifah plays Willie May, who warns Rob that letting the animal loose is not an option. The film was made in late 2019 but did not reach cinemas until January 2022.

The Tiger Rising's Sistine is named after a chapel ceiling painted by which Renaissance artist?

Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling in fresco between 1508 and 1512. Rob stuns his new classmate on the bus by being the only kid in town who knows what her name means.

Which English poet wrote the tiger poem that Sistine recites beside the cage in The Tiger Rising?

William Blake published 'The Tyger' in 1794 in his collection Songs of Experience. Sistine recites its opening the first time she sees the caged animal pacing.

Which actor plays Beauchamp, the tiger-keeping motel owner, in the film of The Tiger Rising?

Dennis Quaid plays Beauchamp, a boss who is openly critical of his staff and not especially friendly to the motel's guests either.

In The Tiger Rising, what does Willie May say Rob is holding in his legs that causes his rash?

His sadness is the cause, Willie May says, and the rash will not heal until he lets it rise up. Her words echo the book's title.

In The Tiger Rising, what does principal Mr. Phelmer tell Rob to do until his leg rash clears up?

Stay home from school is the order, because parents fear the rash is contagious. Rob is secretly thrilled: he believes his legs will never heal, so he thinks he is free for good.

Which debut novel about a girl and a stray dog did Kate DiCamillo publish before The Tiger Rising?

Because of Winn-Dixie came out in 2000 and won a Newbery Honor. The Tiger Rising, her second book, followed just a year later.

What job does Willie May do for Beauchamp at the Florida motel in The Tiger Rising?

Housekeeper Willie May works for Beauchamp at the motel, and she is the one adult Rob and Sistine trust enough to show the tiger.

In The Tiger Rising, Sistine insists her father will soon take her back to which northern city?

Philadelphia is the home Sistine swears she will return to, and it is also the city where Kate DiCamillo herself was born.

In The Tiger Rising, what illness killed Rob's mother six months before the story begins?

Cancer took Rob's mother six months before the story opens. His father responds by never speaking of her, which is why Rob has so much grief packed away.

In The Tiger Rising, what does Sistine promise on the bus to bring Rob the next day?

His homework is her excuse to step off the bus at the motel the next afternoon, and that visit is when Rob blurts out his secret about the tiger.

What job does Beauchamp secretly pay Rob to do for the caged tiger in The Tiger Rising?

Rob is hired to feed it meat, which Beauchamp hands over in a heavy, bloody grocery bag. The job comes with a keyring that also opens the locks on the cage door.

The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo was a finalist for which major American literary prize?

National Book Award judges shortlisted it for Young People's Literature in 2001, when the prize went to Virginia Euwer Wolff's True Believer.

Which hobby, learned from his late mother, does Rob practise alone in The Tiger Rising?

Whittling wood is the skill Rob's mother taught him. When Sistine sees his little wooden figures in the motel room, she tells him he is clearly an artist.

In The Tiger Rising, what was the name of the pet bird Willie May set free as a child?

Cricket was a parakeet whose singing she loved, yet she let him go. Her father was furious, sure the bird would only end up eaten by a snake.

In The Tiger Rising, Rob and his father start over in which small Florida town?

Lister is the small town where the pair move into a motel, and where newcomer Sistine loudly announces that she will not be staying.

In The Tiger Rising, Sistine's father broke up the family by running off with whom?

His secretary is the woman he left with, Sistine tells Rob on the walk to the cage. She then demands to hear about Rob's mother in return.

After his mother's death in The Tiger Rising, what does Rob's father urge Rob never to do?

Rob's father tells him not to cry, and the two never talk about his mother at all. Rob gets so good at holding back tears that he thinks of it as a skill.

What is the name of the Florida motel where Rob and his father live in The Tiger Rising?

Kentucky Star is the run-down motel where Rob's father works for Beauchamp, and its neon sign glows outside their room. Sistine wants to know how a Florida motel got that name.

How did motel owner Beauchamp come to own a live tiger in The Tiger Rising?

As payment on a debt is how the tiger arrived, and Beauchamp cannot decide whether to show it off as a roadside attraction or kill it for its skin.

Where does Rob stumble upon the caged tiger early one morning before school in The Tiger Rising?

In the woods behind the motel, at an abandoned gas station Beauchamp owns, Rob finds the cage. Thinking about the animal helps him get through another miserable day at school.

In The Tiger Rising, what does Sistine decide wise Willie May must be after first meeting her?

A prophetess is Sistine's verdict after hearing Willie May's blunt advice. Willie May has already told Rob exactly why his legs will not heal.

What is new girl Sistine wearing when she first boards the school bus in The Tiger Rising?

A party dress makes Sistine an instant target, and the bullies who usually torment Rob turn on her instead. She fights back every time.

What does Rob say at the cage that makes Sistine yell that she hates him in The Tiger Rising?

Her father isn't coming for her, Rob says, and he somehow knows it is true. Sistine storms off, and Rob chases after her ready to do what she has wanted all along.

Which Newbery-winning novel about a mouse did Kate DiCamillo publish next after The Tiger Rising?

The Tale of Despereaux was her third book, and it won the 2004 Newbery Medal. She wrote it after a friend's child asked for a story with an unlikely hero.

From which large Florida city do Rob and his father move away in The Tiger Rising?

Jacksonville is the city Rob's father uproots them from after his wife dies, and the pair end up sharing one messy motel room with no phone.

What job does Rob's father do for Beauchamp at the motel in The Tiger Rising?

Maintenance man is his role, and Rob pitches in with chores such as weeding the sidewalk. Beauchamp gloats that he gets the boy's labour for free.

On her first day in class in The Tiger Rising, Sistine announces that she hates which region?

The South gets a blast of Sistine's anger almost as soon as she arrives. She promises her new classmates she will not be staying long.

In The Tiger Rising, what surname do Norton and Billy, the brothers who bully Rob on the bus, share?

Threemonger is the name of the brothers who torment Rob on every bus ride. They later tease him about his 'girlfriend' when Sistine starts visiting the motel.

What is the name of Rob's late mother, which he makes his father say aloud in The Tiger Rising?

Caroline is a name Rob's father had forbidden him to say. When Rob finally makes his father speak it aloud, the two of them begin to face their loss together.

Which disease do the bus bullies claim Rob's leg rash must be in The Tiger Rising?

Leprosy is the taunt the brothers yell from the bus while Rob weeds the motel sidewalk. In truth the rash is not contagious at all, as Rob and his father both know.

In The Tiger Rising, what does Rob count among his secret 'not-wishes' once Sistine visits his room?

A friend is the not-wish Rob has buried deepest, afraid that once he starts wishing he will not be able to stop. It surfaces as he waits under the motel's neon sign while Sistine changes.

Once the cage door is open in The Tiger Rising, how do Rob and Sistine finally get the tiger out?

They shout at it, because the tiger shows no hurry to leave even with the door wide open. Only then does it step out and bound away.

Before Rob has any keys in The Tiger Rising, how does Sistine suggest beating the cage's locks?

Saw through them is Sistine's plan the first time she sees the tiger, because she is sure that saving it is their job. Rob argues the animal is not theirs to let go.

Which childhood illness sent Kate DiCamillo's family to Florida, where The Tiger Rising is set?

Chronic pneumonia kept her in and out of hospital, so the family left for a warmer climate when she was five. Her father stayed behind and never joined them.

The film of The Tiger Rising is set in Florida, but in which state was it actually filmed?

Georgia hosted the production, with cameras rolling in the towns of Tifton and Thomasville in November 2019. A local company, Thomasville Pictures, was among the producers.

Which young lead of Netflix's Sweet Tooth plays Rob in the film adaptation of The Tiger Rising?

Christian Convery plays Rob, and he was about ten when the film was made in late 2019. Sweet Tooth, in which he plays a part-deer boy, made him famous two years later.

Where did Kate DiCamillo work in Minnesota in the years before she wrote The Tiger Rising?

A book warehouse hired her as a picker, and she ended up on the children's floor. She woke early to write before shifts and read the stock to learn her craft.