kesterbird's review
5.0
I am 100% behind picutre books of Choctaw stories written by Choctaw authors with a sampling of Choctaw words. I find myself wishing they;d gone all the way and done a bilingual printing, but I'm happy as is.
crystal_reads's review
4.0
Review Copy: Digital ARC via Edelweiss
I'm always on the lookout for great folktales to add to our library collection. Teachers use them in every grade level and it's helpful to have a wide variety. We are especially watching for authentic tales from many different cultures. I was happy to hear about this title in April through a review by Debbie Reese, When I saw it listed on Edelweiss, I knew I had to take a look.
Trickster Tales are generally a lot of fun and this is no exception. Chukfi Rabbit is a selfish and lazy critter. It is interesting to see him working his schemes and readers will be wondering if he will get away with his tricks or not.
Before the story begins, the author does a little bit of explaining about the names in the story. "The people who told this story a long time ago were Choctaw and so they used the Choctaw words for Rabbit, Fox, Bear...." He also explains that sometimes they used the Choctaw word, sometimes English, and sometimes both together. I have been trying to expose my students to many languages through picture books and this is a great example to use. As Rodgers says, by the end of the story, readers may have some new Choctaw words in their vocabulary. Of course we will all know how to say rabbit.
When the story opens, Ms. Shukata Possum needs a new house. Many friends agreed to get together and help build her house. Aside from being a trickster tale, this is also a tale of community and friendship. Chukfi Rabbit is much too busy to help though until he hears that there will be food involved. He is especially interested in the fresh homemade butter. Given his selfishness and laziness, you can easily imagine what he plans to avoid and what he plans to get for himself. His antics are amusing and the results are even more so.
The illustrations are bright and cheerful and also reflect the Choctaw culture. One example is the clothing that the animals are wearing featuring diamond trim. The aprons, hats and other accessories also show this as Debbie Reese noted.
I am excited to be adding this to our collection of Trickster Tales. I know that the teachers will be glad to have another Trickster to share and the students will enjoy meeting him.
I'm always on the lookout for great folktales to add to our library collection. Teachers use them in every grade level and it's helpful to have a wide variety. We are especially watching for authentic tales from many different cultures. I was happy to hear about this title in April through a review by Debbie Reese, When I saw it listed on Edelweiss, I knew I had to take a look.
Trickster Tales are generally a lot of fun and this is no exception. Chukfi Rabbit is a selfish and lazy critter. It is interesting to see him working his schemes and readers will be wondering if he will get away with his tricks or not.
Before the story begins, the author does a little bit of explaining about the names in the story. "The people who told this story a long time ago were Choctaw and so they used the Choctaw words for Rabbit, Fox, Bear...." He also explains that sometimes they used the Choctaw word, sometimes English, and sometimes both together. I have been trying to expose my students to many languages through picture books and this is a great example to use. As Rodgers says, by the end of the story, readers may have some new Choctaw words in their vocabulary. Of course we will all know how to say rabbit.
When the story opens, Ms. Shukata Possum needs a new house. Many friends agreed to get together and help build her house. Aside from being a trickster tale, this is also a tale of community and friendship. Chukfi Rabbit is much too busy to help though until he hears that there will be food involved. He is especially interested in the fresh homemade butter. Given his selfishness and laziness, you can easily imagine what he plans to avoid and what he plans to get for himself. His antics are amusing and the results are even more so.
The illustrations are bright and cheerful and also reflect the Choctaw culture. One example is the clothing that the animals are wearing featuring diamond trim. The aprons, hats and other accessories also show this as Debbie Reese noted.
I am excited to be adding this to our collection of Trickster Tales. I know that the teachers will be glad to have another Trickster to share and the students will enjoy meeting him.
thesecretgarden's review
5.0
loved it! PERFECT for reading aloud to littles. great message about helping out and being honest, with the inclusion of Choctaw words (it's based on a Choctaw story). recommended for any children's collection in the home or public library.
brucefarrar's review
3.0
When Shukata Possum needs a new house her friends decide to have an everybody-work-together day to build it for her, except for lazy Chukfi Rabbit, who claims he’s too busy that day, but he changes his mind suddenly when he hears there will be a big feed following the work. But when it’s the day to work, and all the other animals are digging and sawing and hammering, Chukfi pretends to be sick and sneaks off to have a little snack, and soon he’s eaten up all the butter for the feast.
This traditional tale was found by Choctaw storyteller Rogers in transcripts of oral history interviews in the Oklahoma History Center. With the help of Widener’s illustrations he reintroduces this trickster tale with its moral to twenty-first century readers.
This traditional tale was found by Choctaw storyteller Rogers in transcripts of oral history interviews in the Oklahoma History Center. With the help of Widener’s illustrations he reintroduces this trickster tale with its moral to twenty-first century readers.
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