Tiger Who Came to Tea exhibition to run in Leicestershire

Judith Kerr was a refugee from Nazi Germany

An exhibition based on classic children's book The Tiger Who Came to Tea is to open next year.

The show, based on Judith Kerr's beloved illustrated story - first published in 1968 - is due to open at Leicestershire's Charnwood Museum.

The exhibition features illustrations from the collection of Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children's Books.

It will open on 8 January and run until 5 March.

'Precious'

Visitors will be able to explore a reproduction of the kitchen of the book's main character, Sophie, where the Tiger wreaks havoc by eating all the food in the cupboards, drinking all the water in the taps and, notoriously, swigging all of Daddy's beer.

There will be a 4ft (1.2m) cuddly tiger, dressing up, puzzles and games.

The Tiger notoriously eats all of the family's tea before looking around the kitchen to see what else he can find

The exhibition also explores the childhood of Judith Kerr, who died in 2019 aged 95, and her experiences of having to escape Germany as Hitler came to power.

She and her family were refugees in Switzerland and then France, before finally settling in London in 1936.

Artwork from the book now features in Seven Stories' collection

Councillor Christine Radford, Leicestershire County Council cabinet member for heritage, leisure and arts, said: "The Tiger Who Came to Tea has been a great favourite with children and adults alike in the more than 50 years since it was published.

"It's great that Charnwood Museum is able to play host to this wonderful exhibition, celebrating the story and hopefully introducing it to even more readers."

The Tiger is initially well-mannered before greed gets the better of him

Councillor Jenny Bokor, from Charnwood Borough Council, described the story as "wonderful".

"We are looking forward to welcoming visitors of all ages to the museum to soak up the beautiful artwork and creative history of this milestone in children's literature," she said.

Loughborough will also host events themed around the book at its library.

Judith Kerr also famously created the Mog series

Gillian Rennie, head of exhibitions at Seven Stories, said: "We're honoured to be the custodian of Judith Kerr's archive and privileged to be curator of an exhibition that celebrates her remarkable life and her outstanding contribution to children's literature.

"Visitors to Charnwood Museum will be treated to a unique opportunity to see reproductions of Judith's precious artwork, which shows how, through a lifetime of looking and drawing, her stories have become part of our nation's childhood."