Book Description
for Rabbit Makes a Monkey of Lion by Verna Aardema and Jerry Pinkney
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Once Rabbit knows about the beehive in Lion's calabash tree she is determined to get the honey for herself. Using Turtle and Bush-rat as accomplices, Rabbit outwits the slow-moving Lion. Each animal is characterized through its actions as well as by the details of Pinkney's dramatic pencil and watercolor illustrations. The author is successful in using onomatopoeia effectively in passages such as "The sand flew, freh, freh, freh, freh! But the burrow was too deep." Pinkney's illustrations are as dynamic from a distance as they are close up, making the lengthy, action-filled tale from Zanzibar a natural choice for group use. (Ages 4-9)
CCBC Choices 1989. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 1989. Used with permission.