Title: Rabbit's Wish for Snow
Author: Tchin
Illustrator: Carolyn Ewing
Publisher: Scholastic
Ages: 7 to 9
Synopsis:
"Long ago,
rabbits were not
as they are today.
Rabbits had long bushy tails
and long straight arms
and long straight legs."
Why should you read it:
I'm currently studying picture books written for the educational market. Tchin's tale about one little rabbit's wish for wintery fun in the snow appealed to me for a couple of different reasons. First, it is a retelling of a Native American legend. Since I'm part Cherokee, I find myself quite often drawn to the books from this culture. Native American storytellers have a way of making the unknown seem magical...mystical...but at the same time real to the reader. In reading this story, I can certainly imagine the way Rabbit must have looked before his snowy adventure and young readers will surely believe this is one explanation as to why rabbits are the way they are today.
The other reason why I enjoyed this story is because of Ms. Ewing's delightful illustrations. Rabbit comes to life on the pages of the lifelike artwork. From the first flowers of Spring to the snowdrifts of Winter, I enjoyed studying how this illustrator blended colors and shading to create Rabbit's world. If you like reading stories generated by different cultures or just legends in general, RABBIT'S WISH FOR SNOW would be a nice addition to any home library.
Like-o-meter Rating scale**: 4 out of 5...think about it.
**Rating scale**
5 out of 5...grab it!
4 out of 5...think about it.
3 out of 5...take or leave it.
2 out of 5...maybe not for you.
1 out of 5...forget about it!
Hi Donna, I think readers/purchasers and writers need to be careful with topics about First People. In this case, I do not know this author, Tchin, nor his/her tribal affiliation, nor his/her familiarity with the story as passed down, nor the permission by elders to tell the story, nor which tribe the story is from. Maybe all that is explained in the book - I haven't read it, so I can't say. But one thing that may be helpful in evaluating books is this tool - Criteria for How to Tell the Difference: A Guide for Evaluating Children's Books for Anti-Indian Bias. pdf here: http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/docs/americanindianed/resources/criteria.pdf Debbie Reese also has an article about using folktales in classrooms pdf here: http://www.csun.edu/~bashforth/305_PDF/305_FinalProj/305FP_Race/NativeAmFolktales_Caution_Jan07_LA.pdf and her blog American Indians in Children's Literature is chock full of information. http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteHi Kara! Thank you so much for such an informative reply! While I must admit this is not a tale I've heard associated with the Cherokee, it's nice to know there are resources to help evaluate diverse books out there.
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