‘Tiger By The Tail’ – by Venita Coelho | Book Review

On the book jacket-

Tigers are being reported missing from wildlife reserves across India, Bangladesh and Nepal. Several hundred tigers have vanished. Something, or someone, is taking them. And if they are not stopped, this could mean the end of the species. It is time the Animal Intelligence Agency got involved.

NOTE: The Animal Intelligence Agency is a multi-species non-governmental agency. Specially trained Animal and Human agents work undercover to save animals and save the world.

Some of them have the licence to kill.

The following agents have been assigned to the case:

Agent No. 002

Species: Panthera tigris tigris

Name: Bagha

One of our most experienced agents. 250 kilos of sheer intelligence and muscle. Licensed to kill.

Agent No. XXXX

Species: Semnopithecus entellus

Name: Kela 

Formerly an agent but removed from duty in disgrace after the Incident of the Exploding Mangoes. Licence cancelled. NOTE: KEEP A CLOSE WATCH. HIGHLY UNPREDICTABLE.

Agent No. 11.5Species: Homo sapiens sapiens

Name: Rana

Skinny. Allergic to everything. No brawn, plenty of brain. Great facility with technology. Fluent in JungleSpeak. Has the ability to speak to nearly all species. NOTE: ALSO ALLERGIC TO CAT HAIR. MIGHT BE A PROBLEM WHEN HE PARTNERS WITH AGENT NO. OO2.

Agents have been instructed that this is an Alpha mission. Highest degree of difficulty and danger. The leads they have to follow lie in Kathmandu, the Sera monastery in Tibet and The Forbidden City in China. They will face danger, destruction, and possible death. The fate of the tiger species is in their hands.

Good things come in small packets, and the kiddy joy knows no bounds when a good adventure comes binded in their way. Venita Coelho’s Tiger by the Tail is one book that packs in the most fun adventure I’ve went through in a while, and children are sure to love it. The ideas of Animal Intelligence Agency (AIA) and Jungle Speak were extremely fresh, and a great deal of insight and knowledge is parted in this venture in simple yet playful words. This book is one of the coolest way to enlighten a kid about our endangered national animal.

Venita has beautifully spun a fantasized story around the animal. The story has a 11 year old protagonist named Rana, who discovers that he can converse in Jungle Speak, a language known and understood by all animals. Rana then encounters a tiger named Bagha and a monkey named Kela, who set off on a mission to Save The Animals. They group to form the AIA (Animal Intelligence Agency), and equip themselves with several cool gadgets acquired by Rana’s Dada. They set off on a journey spanning India-Kathmandu-Tibet-China with a mission to Save the Tigers. What danger awaits them on their way?

The characters are brilliant. Their dialogues are smartly written, and wit makes them all stand apart. The story is pacy enough, but not so pacy that the young readers would find it difficult to understand. The narrative is linear and simple.

For the relevance of the topic and for the manner in which it’s narrated, I give this book a high five. Recommended for young adults.

Overall Rating: 5/5

You can buy this book from Flipkart here:

About the author:

Venita Coelho is a writer and artist. She has had a long career in television, which she quit when saas-bahu became the dominant narrative on television. She is also a screenwriter and an artist who works on canvas and glass. She lives in Goa with her daughter, four dogs and two cats.