in a measured, age-appropriate way to give
the message of working together, despite
differences,” says Truong. It’s the book he’s
most proud of, although, he insists, it’s a
tough call singling out any one book
because so much love, effort and talent are
put into creating every single title.
A creative approach
While there’s no dearth of great story
ideas, you might wonder how Little Tiger
Group goes about finding the talent to
create such books. The company receives
submissions through its website and
through agencies, as many publishers do,
but Truong says Little Tiger Group has also
been known to track down people via
Pinterest or Twitter if it happens to be in
need of someone with particular skills.
Even an exceptional windo w display can be
enough to pique interest in someone’s
artistic skills.
The company searches for the right
kind of talent because at the heart of every
book it publishes, says Truong, there has to
be beauty, wonder and love—love of reading, love of the book itself, love of the final
product. And people can only produce
these kinds of books if they possess the
right kind of creativity. For Truong in particular, reading—especially for children—
should be about shared experiences, a
concept that he says is “at the heart” of
everything Little Tiger Group creates.
O
RN
AM
E
NT
S
:
©
D
3IM
A
G
ES
/
S
H
U
T
TE
RS
T
O C K “We really embrace the idea of shared
experiences at Little Tiger,” he says. “Our
wordless titles in particular are aimed
at children who can’t yet read, so we are
asking them to read pictures instead.
What can they see? What do they think
is happening? What do they think might
happen? There’s a massive element of
imaginative play and an element of analysis and critical thinking.” The books themselves, he says, are simply a starting point
for conversations between children and
adults. Truong and his team want to extend
“beyond the books,” opening up new worlds
to inquisitive young minds.
“We consider the whole reading experience when making a book,” Truong
notes. He says the company puts everything into ensuring its books are beautiful, tactile, interactive, informative, fun
to read and, above all, that they leave the
reader feeling satisfied. And they absolutely do. Little Tiger Group titles touch on
themes of loyalty in friendship, finding
hope in the face of challenges and the
need to learn empathy for others. The
books are lively and fun, as well as informative at times. And most importantly,
every book the company publishes has an
important place in a child’s life. C
Annie Mako; is a freelance writer who reads
children’s books to her ;-year-old daughter at
their home in Rochester, Kent, in the UK.
COMPANYPROFILE
COMPANY
Little Tiger Group
YEAR ESTABLISHED
1987
CEO Monty Bhatia
HEADQUARTERS
West London, England
WEBSITE littletiger.co.uk
PRODUCTS AT COSTCO
Three 15-book box sets, including
Box of Bedtime Stories, Box of Animal
Stories and Box of Busy Stories (Little Tiger
Assortment, Item #1203398)
QUOTE ABOUT COSTCO
“It’s always a pleasure working with
Costco because we share common values:
quality content, brilliant packaging and
good value for money. Often we create
products specifically for Costco, with
their customers in mind, and we do it
because we love working with them.”
—Tom Truong,
Little Tiger Group publisher
Illustrations from
Eddie and Dog, by
Alison Brown (left),
and Nobody Laughs at
a Lion, by Paul Bright
(below).
Opposite page: Illustrations from When
We’re Together, by Claire Freedman (top),
and Click Clack Crocodile’s Back, by
Kathryn White (below).
