New Book: Pak Belang the Tiger

The long-awaited book, Pak Belang the Tiger, will be ready on 18th March. Author Rossiti Aishah Rashidi has had a string of successful animal and environmental-themed books for children. She wrote this one as if she is having a pleasant chat with children, making her text simple and easy to understand. 

Rossiti Aishah Rashidi

Rossiti personally chooses the illustrators she wants for her books. This does not always work well as authors do not necessarily make the right choice - or at least the publishers do not think so! The right illustrations in a picture book are critical and many publishers prefer to choose their own illustrators. Fortunately for Rossiti, she has a successful formula and is sticking to it. Simple text combined with outstanding realistic and detailed illustrations make her books winners. Pak Belang the Tiger is no exception - the illustrations by Indonesian artist Widiyatno are breathtaking.

One of Rossiti's book, Puteri Tioman the Green Turtle was awarded the IBBY Honour list for best writing. The same book was also animated by a Taiwan publisher who told us it was used to profile and showcase their animations. When we told them a book on a tiger will be out soon, they immediately begged us to sign the contract with them. And this without seeing the book. We are sure that they will not be disappointed when we finally show them Pak Belang the Tiger at the Bologna Book Fair this April.

Pak Belang, as many of us know, is the Malay nickname for tiger and means Mr Stripes. Pak Belang is the King of the Malaysian forest. He is a carnivore and a top predator. But one animal is not afraid of him. Guess which? Pak Belang is a good swimmer but is not so good at climbing. He kills his prey instantly with a bite on the neck. However, Pak Belang has one great enemy – humans. Today, there are not many tigers left in the wild. Pak Belang, the Malayan tiger is on the list of critically endangered animals. 

This information and other fascinating facts are found in the book. Whether reading alone or being read to, children are likely to find the book engrossing. Teachers and educators may also use the book as an additional  resource. Rossiti is a frequent speaker on environmental issues. Write to us at [email protected] if you wish to invite her to your school. 

Add this valuable and beautiful book to your home or school library.