Sheena is a black and white domestic cat, and much loved by the Allen family. In H.S. Toshack’s The Smile of the Tiger, this adventurous cat finds herself trapped in the family’s high-rise apartment. The food is running low, and water is nonexistent. She’s thirsty, and she’s confused as to why her family hasn’t returned. She must escape, at least to find some water, or she’ll die in the apartment, alone. Sliding down a chute to the ground floor is an adventure in itself, but once she’s down, she must navigate the flooded streets of Thailand. It’s a place known as the Land of Smiles, only now it’s a World of Water. And others need help, too: Khemkhaeng, the tiger, and Chang, the young elephant. Can Sheena help these creatures and find her family somewhere along the journey?

H.S. Toshack’s The Smile of the Tiger is an animal adventure like no other. The plot follows Sheena’s adventures (told in third-person narrative) as she navigates the high-rise in which she lives and then the flooded country outside. The author uses a lot of descriptive narrative as the story unfolds. Dialogue is used effectively. The book features some interesting illustrations that help set the scenes. At first, the reader might think this is a story about animal abuse and neglect, but gradually, as the plot unfolds, we learn that it’s about a clever cat who makes the best of a bad situation and realizes that she wasn’t abandoned on purpose. This is a great read, a grand adventure for young animal lovers.

The Smile of the Tiger by H. S. Toshack follows the adventures of Sheena, a clever black-and-white cat, after her human family, the Allens, go to live and work in Thailand. Sudden and severe flooding left Sheena trapped and alone in the high-rise Bangkok apartment where they lived. Facing life-threatening thirst and hunger, Sheena escapes, only to find an unrecognizable landscape created by the floods. To survive, Sheena teamed up with local animals who understood that the path to safety was in the higher grounds of the Tenasserim Hills. During the group’s stay at a sanctuary temple, they learned that the resident “photo-op” tiger named Khemkhaeng was destined for the illegal wildlife trade. Their purpose changed from simple survival to a rescue mission. The Tenasserim Hills is also a place where a tiger could live without human interference. It is where the real "smile" of the tiger returns when he is released into the wild, where there is true freedom. Will this group of animals succeed? And will Sheena reunite with the Allens?

The Smile of the Tiger by H.S. Toshack is a poignant adventure filled with action-packed excitement. Sheena transforms from a spoiled pet into a dedicated leader while Khemkhaeng goes from a broken prisoner to a heroic protector. It is written from an animal-centric point of view that depends on their natural behavior and how they experience the world through their senses and instincts. The writing uses textures, scents, vibrations, cultural details, and striking descriptions that make it immersive. The minimalist illustrations spark the imagination and give hints about what will happen. The themes are friendship, teamwork, freedom, nature, habitat loss, environmental disasters, and illegal wildlife trade. The story shows grim realities, but still tries to find balance with meaningful insights and a hopeful, almost miraculous ending. Recommended for fans of adventure, environmental, animal, and wildlife stories.