Mother to Tigers (A Junior Library Guild Selection)

This is the story of Helen Martini, the first woman zookeeper. Helen and her husband (an employee of the Bronx Zoo), took in tiger cubs to care for them. This led to Helen opening the first animal nursery in a zoo. She is credited with raising 27 cubs, when no cubs had successfully been raised in a zoo before. This book is easy for students to connect with, because children of all ages have prior knowledge with animals and zoos. The author's illustrations depict animals bringing joy and color to the character's lives to fill the void of their not being able to have children. This book would be a great addition to a theme unit on women's history.

I just read this book yesterday. I thought it was both cute and interesting. I have always found that books involving people caring for animals in trouble are good and this one is great for younger kids.

Warmly written, based on fact, beautiful art, great for girls

This remarkable book tells the story of Helen Martini, founder of the Bronx Zoo's animal nursery in 1944 and its first woman zookeeper. Helen and her husband, Fred really wanted children. They lost their first child and Helen couldn't have any more. They began to fill their lives with pets. Fred found a job in the Bronx Zoo. He often took home some baby tigers and Helen cared for them just like she would care for a human baby. This lead to her setting up a nursery at the zoo to care for lots of baby animals. This story will be adored by both children and adults.