Rabbit's Snow Dance

October 22, 2012
The father-and-son storytelling team behind Raccoon’s Last Race and Turtle’s Race with Beaver return with their version of a traditional Iroquois tale. While the Bruchacs reach back hundreds of years for the source of their story, Newman’s influences are comparatively modern—think Mary Blair with a touch of Hanna-Barbera. Set back when Rabbit had a “very long, beautiful tail,” the story follows the selfish, impatient animal’s attempts to conjure a massive midsummer snowstorm (rabbit’s big snowshoe-like feet allow him to hop atop the snow and reach “tasty leaves and buds” more easily). His chanting and drumming do the trick, creating so much snow that it covers the treetops and causes difficulties for the small animals; the summer sun that rises the next day, however, brings about rabbit’s comeuppance and costs him his tail. Rabbit and the other animals don’t always look consistent from page to page, as though Newman couldn’t quite settle on a style, but his paintings are nonetheless a welcome departure from the stodgier artwork that can often accompany myths and folk tales. Ages 3–5.

October 1, 2012
A long-tailed rabbit who wants a nibble of the highest, tastiest leaves uses his special snow song in the summertime, despite the protests of the other animals. The Bruchacs' Iroquois pourquoi tale tells how selfish Rabbit, who is short on patience, simply cannot wait for natural snow, no matter that the other forest denizens are not yet ready for winter. Drum in hand, he sings as he dances in a circle: "I will make it snow, AZIKANAPO!" (It won't take much coaching before listeners join in with this and other infectious refrains.) Like the Energizer Bunny, Rabbit just keeps going; by the time he ceases his drumming, only the top of the tallest tree is left sticking above the snow. Exhausted, Rabbit curls up on this branch and sleeps through the night and the hot sunshine of the next day, which melts all the snow. Stepping from his treetop, Rabbit gets a terrible surprise when he falls to the ground, his long bushy tail catching on each branch he passes and making the first pussy willows. And that is why rabbits now have short tails. Newman's watercolor, gouache and ink illustrations are an interesting mix of styles. Some foregrounds appear to be painted in a pointillist manner, and some of the animals are almost manga-esque, lacking any shading in their sharp outlines and flat colors. Kids who are looking forward to a snow day may give Rabbit's chant a try, but hopefully, they will know when to stop. (Picture book. 3-7)

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November 1, 2012

K-Gr 2-One summer, a bratty white rabbit longs to hop on snowbanks to reach high buds and leaves in the trees. He speeds through the forest, chanting the song he uses each winter to bring snow. Despite complaints by Chipmunk, Squirrel, Bear, Turtle, Beaver, and Moose, the frenzied song is soon accompanied by drum as Rabbit dances in a circle, "'EE-OOO!' Thump! Thump! 'EE-OOO!' Thump! Thump! 'Yo, Yo, Yo!'" Snow begins to fall quickly, and Rabbit doesn't stop until only treetops are visible. Exhausted, he takes a nap and continues to sleep even as the summer sun melts the snow. Finally awake, the mischief maker falls from the trees, each branch on the way down shredding clumps of his formerly long tail into pussy willows, leaving him only the tiny pom-pom. And that is how the rabbit's tail becomes a powder puff. The Bruchacs promise that Rabbit still loves the snow but has learned to be patient until winter. This modern retelling maintains their solid reputation for keeping Native American tales fresh. Newman's watercolor, gouache, and ink illustrations are cheery, flourished cartoons in simple compositions.-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2012
Preschool-G In the Bruchacs' take on a traditional Iroquois tale, we meet Rabbit. An impatient fellow (with a long, luxurious tail), Rabbit wants things when he wants them. And right now he wants snowthe fact that it's summer notwithstanding. Fortunately (for him), Rabbit knows a magical chant that will bring the flakes. And no matter what the other animals think, he persists until finally the snow does fall. And fall, and fall. So much snow comes down that Rabbit has to climb a tree to escape it. But without the chanting, the snow melts, unbeknownst to Rabbit, who is freshly awakened from a nap. When there's no snow to step on, he falls, his tail gets caught in the branches, he leaves fur along the way, and when he turns around to assess the damage, there's his cotton tail. The telling is sprightly, and Newman's ink-and-watercolor artwork, which has the feel of Asian brushwork, makes an ideal companion. An appealing addition to folktale shelves.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2013
The Bruchacs retell a pourquoi tale that the elder included in two previous collections ([cf2]Iroquois Stories[cf1] and [cf2]The Boy Who Lived with the Bears[cf1]). This version differs significantly--unfortunately, there's no source note. Shorter sentences and more patterning and repetition make this a good preschool read-aloud. The watercolor, gouache, and ink illustrations' classic mid-twentieth-century style echoes Simont, Hurd, and Weisgard.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 1, 2012
Joseph Bruchac and his son James team up to retell a pourquoi tale that the elder Bruchac has included in two previous collections of Iroquois stories -- as Rabbit and the Willow Tree in Iroquois Stories: Heroes and Heroines, Monsters and Magic (Crossing Press, 1985) and as Rabbit's Snow Dance in The Boy Who Lived with the Bears, and Other Iroquois Stories (HarperCollins, 1995). Unfortunately, there's no note in this edition to cite the original source, as one would expect from such an experienced storyteller. The tale itself deals with Rabbit's selfish desire for out-of-season snow so he can reach the tasty buds at the top of the willow tree, also explaining how Rabbit loses his long bushy tail in the process. The version created for this picture-book retelling differs significantly from Bruchac's other two, even the 1995 version that bears the same name. Sentences are shorter here, and there is more patterning and repetition, making it a good choice for a preschool read-aloud. Several animal characters have been added to the story -- those that like the summer snow and those that don't. But the most notable part of the book is its illustrations, rendered in watercolor, gouache, and ink, which have a classic mid-twentieth-century style that echoes Marc Simont, Clement Hurd, and Leonard Weisgard. kathleen t. horning

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)