Tiger Flowers (book)

Quinlan wrote Tiger Flowers to help children understand grief. She chose to focus on AIDS, rather than cancer or a death by natural causes, because there were relatively fewer children's books about the topic.^[1] The phrase "a dark place", describing Joel's grief, was changed to "a cold place" on the insistence of Quinlan's editor, who felt that the original phrase and Wilson's illustration of a silhouetted tree could potentially seem racially insensitive. Quinlan initially argued against the change but eventually agreed so that the book could be published, and Wilson modified the accompanying illustration.^[2][3] The book's illustrations are primarily in shades of green, yellow, and orange.^[4]

The book was published by Dial Books for Young Readers on May 1, 1994.^[5]

Tiger Flowers was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature in 1995.^[6] It received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised its attempts to present difficult topics, including AIDS and death, to children.^[7] Janice Del Negro of Booklist observed at the time that it was "one of a very few titles to address this very real issue for today's children".^[8] In a review for Canadian Literature, J. R. Wytenbroek agreed that the book would be a helpful resource for grieving children and described it as "sensitive and timely", though she felt that some parts of the story were too obvious.^[9] A reviewer for Publishers Weekly criticized the book for not placing a stronger focus on AIDS and homosexuality, noting that the disease is only mentioned twice.^[5] Wilson's illustrations received praise, with a reviewer for Quill & Quire writing that the bright colours and her "familiar style of high realism" helped to offset the book's dark subject material.^[10]

In 1999, the parent of a student in Bear Creek Elementary School in Euless, Texas, complained that her daughter's school library should not have Tiger Flowers in its collection, protesting the book's subject matter.^[11] The parent was counseled by the conservative American Center for Law & Justice and sought to have the book kept in the school counselor's office instead of the library. A district committee voted in support of the library's decision to keep the book, stating that it would be a beneficial resource for children about topics they may not otherwise feel comfortable discussing with adults.^[11] The district's school board trustees later found the book to be "educationally suitable" and upheld the committee's decision in a 3–1 vote. One trustee described Tiger Flowers as "one of the most innocuous books I have ever read".^[12]