When siblings Ali and Ollie wake up one morning, they are surprised to discover a massive tiger sleeping on their front lawn. Since he’s wet, and there’s a smell of salt water in the air, they assume he has come from the sea. They also decide, even more whimsically, that his name is Louis, based on the white patch on his chin and the way his whiskers tickle his nose.

Ali and Ollie’s parents (quite sensibly) don’t believe that tigers come from the sea. They are convinced otherwise, however, when Louis jumps into Ollie’s bath. The question then becomes how to reclaim their house and get Louis back where he belongs. The family dons sea-creature costumes and leads the furry visitor toward the beach – at which point we are treated to a beautiful image of the green-eyed tiger swimming out to sea, as if none of these trivial humans are of any importance.

That is not the only point at which the silent, menacing tiger steals the show. Rendered magnificently by Sholto Walker’s careful ink-and-watercolour illustrations, Louis is dominant even when asleep, which he is most of the time. By comparison, the kids and the parents are depicted as simple cartoon-like figures – cute, but lacking the presence of the beast.

First-time author Michal Kozlowski has a rich imagination, and this tale would be delightful as a bedtime story told by a fun-loving parent with a penchant for inventing tall tales. But somehow that exuberant silliness doesn’t entirely come across in the prose. Instead we get a narrative whose offbeat logic at times seems almost lazy, and not quite worthy of a grand tiger like Louis.