The Tiger Who Sleeps Under My Chair

Hannah Foley

This captivating middle-grade novel cleverly explores the issues of teenage mental health delivered through a dual-timeline narrative. In 1884 Emma Linden, obsessed with fossils and the famous fossil hunter Mary Anning, helps her brother James, cope with a series of psychotic episodes. In 2023, football-mad Jude, helps his friend Rosie with her mental health problems as they research Rosie’s family history. Readers will find plenty to enjoy and relate to in this story. Whether it be not being selected for a sports team, the delight of the freedom of summer holidays or the darker themes of coping with someone with mental ill health, this is both a sensitive portrayal of the effect mental health has on friendships as well as an intriguing historical mystery.

Teaching resource

Published by Zephyr (320 pages)

Reviewed by Rachel Bolton