Ho-Limlim: A Rabbit Tale From Japan

After one last foray far from his home, an aging rabbit decides he prefers to rest in his own garden and let his children and grandchildren bring him good things to eat

Kindergarten-Grade 2---- Ho-limlim (a refrain marking the rabbit's bounding motion) is set in the forests of northern Japan, and comes from the oral tradition of the Ainu, the indigenes of Hokkaido. The tale is simply the first-person account of the final foray of an aging rabbit. He discovers, ruefully, that his eyes can't be relied on anymore, as they trick him into believing that things at a distance are other than what they turn out to be. Since that day, he tells readers, he prefers to eat what his offspring bring, and not to forage: "venturing out is good, but home is even better." The colored woodcuts are stunningly good, as readers might expect from Swan Sky (Philomel, 1988) and other Tejima books. From the dramatic endpapers, through the patterned landscapes, to the monochrome scenes representing the animal's deteriorating vision, Tejima combines beauty of setting with the unusual perspective of the animal / viewer in a tale about perception as much as about aging. These sophisticated themes are perfect subjects for the artist's graphic style. --Patricia Dooley, University of Washington, Seattle
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.