Don’t Wake Up the Tiger

“Don’t Wake Up the Tiger” by Britta Teckentrup

I am so excited to talk about yet another book by Britta that I adore.  This one is heaps of fun and has interactive element that make the book especially exciting.  It is about a group of animals who are caught in a dilemma.  They need to cross over Tiger, but don’t want to wake her up.  Their solution is to pass over her one at a time as quietly as possible.  However tiger starts to stir, which is why the reader must rub her belly and rock the book to help her stay asleep.  In the end a balloon pops and she does wake up!  Then you get to discover the lovely surprise that the animals had in store for her and why they had so many balloons handy in the first place.  It is a fun and unique book that will have your littles begging for you to read it again and again.

Click here to purchase “Don’t Wake the Tiger”  *affiliate link

“Don’t Wake the Tiger” inspired Craft and Activity

This story is so much fun that I just had to pair it with a Beyond the Book craft and activity.  Almost immediately what came to mind was balloon rockets!  Have you ever made those before?  They are a classic children’s activity that’s been around forever and can be so much fun.  The twist I put on it to match the book was adding a hanging turtle and using the set-up to act out the book.  Below I explain how I did it.

To Make the Balloon Rocket

Materials:  balloon (I chose red to match the story), turtle printable below or your own animal template, 1 straw, markers or other coloring medium, string, thick/strong tape, (after taking the photo below I opted to use clear packing tape because it is strong and less visible), band scissors.

Steps:

1. Gather supplies and using the free printable of a turtle below (or your own) color and cut out an animal from card stock.  Cut a short piece of string (about a few inches) and tape one end to the back of your turtle.
2. Cut your straw in half then slip yarn or strong string through the straw and tie the string on both ends to an anchor.  (I tied each end of my string onto kitchen chairs on either end of the room.)  Make sure the string is taught.
3. Blow up the balloon and then, while pinching the end tight so as not to release the air, use thick tape to tape the balloon to the bottom of your straw.
4. While still holding the end of your balloon tight, flip it over and tape the end of the string attached to your turtle to the bottom of your balloon.

You are now ready to go!  Simply pull your balloon to the end of your string, make sure your animal is hanging from the bottom of your balloon properly, and release the end of the balloon that you have been holding tightly.

The force of the air being released from the balloon will propel it forward.  My little guy got the biggest kick out of this!  He wanted to do it again and again and again.  I almost felt bad for our little turtle because he was propelled forward so forcefully! Haha! Rather, I’ll just imagined he was having the time of his life.

You can even set up two or more string  “tracks” with balloons and have races.  The possibilities are endless!

“Don’t Wake the Tiger” inspired Activity with Balloon 

After we were done playing with the balloon rocket a few times I blew up the balloon and tied the end off.  Then I got one of my toddlers stuffed tigers and we acted out the story of “Don’t Wake the Tiger” by pretending the tiger was asleep and quietly passing the balloon with the turtle over her head.  My little guy loved this activity too and playing out stories is a great comprehension strategy for readers and especially pre-readers.

Free Printable: