Dear Reader,

Thank you for joining me on what has become the journey of a lifetime. Who’d have thought that five imaginary kids from 17th Century China could make such an impact?

Originally published in 2005 by Random House Children’s Books, TIGER: The Five Ancestors, Book 1 and its nine companion novels sold nearly 700,000 copies in 14 languages. Three of the novels received accolades from the American Library Association/YALSA, while another received a Children’s Choice Award from the International Literacy Association and Children’s Book Council. There were many other awards and achievements, too, as well as movie options, national book tours, school visits totaling tens of thousands of students, and so much more.

Then time did what it does, and everything sort of . . . faded.

Until now.

Early last year, Penguin Random House graciously reverted all rights back to me (thank you, Mallory!), and I’ve been obsessively laying the foundation to relaunch all 10 novels ever since. Things get a little confusing because there are still thousands of copies of the original editions floating around in libraries and used bookstores. They feature the iconic yin/yang, human/animal cover art that your parents might recognize. As much as I appreciate those covers, it’s time to move on.

What you’re looking at here is a labor of love. I laid out every page, typeset every word. I also created the covers, drawing each character’s silhouette to the best of my limited ability as I see them in my mind.

There is still work to be done. As a one-person operation, there will be gaps between each new release. For details, please check out my website and sign up for my newsletter: www.jeffstonebooks.com.

Thank you, again, for coming along for the ride! Please be patient as I breathe life back into these characters, one adventure at a time.

My Very Best,

Jeff Stone
January 2024