Great Rabbit and the Long-Tailed Wildcat

A long time ago, Wildcat decides he wants to eat Great Rabbit and bets his beautiful tail that he can catch the bunny, but Great Rabbit tricks Wildcat three times and claims his prize

Kindergarten-Grade 3-- This Algonquin Indian pourquoi legend explains how the wildcat lost his long, luxuriant tail and now has nothing left but a short stump. Not content with a meal of small insignificant rabbits, he decided to track Great Rabbit, who is not only the biggest and strongest of all rabbits, but also magical, and bets his tail that he can catch and eat him. Assuming various human guises such as a medicine man and a warrior, Great Rabbit fools Wildcat again and again, leading him on a merry chase over frozen peaks and fields and through frigid forests. Finally, huge and armed with a tomahawk, in his natural shape, he confronts the terrified cat and collects the bet by chopping off his tail. The lively, expressive text, with an appropriate storytelling cadence and touches of humor, carries the tale forward briskly and entertainingly. Strong, witty, full- and double-page illustrations in a primitive, distorted style using wintry tones of blue and mauve for outdoors and rusts and yellows for the firelit wigwam interiors complement the text very well. --Patricia Pearl Dole, formerly at First Presbyterian School, Martinsville, VA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A proud wildcat gets his comeuppance when he tries to make a meal out of the magical Great Rabbit in this version of an Algonquin legend. Wildcat bets his tail that he'll find and devour the largest and most delicious rabbit of the land, but the wily bunny--who has overheard Wildcat's boast--pulls out all the stops to trick the beast out of his dinner. Mystical powers allow Great Rabbit to appear to Wildcat in different guises, including a tomahawk-wielding (read tail-chopping) warrior. Gregg's retelling lumbers in places, limited by the parameters of a plot that has some logistical glitches. Surely a creature as powerful as Great Rabbit could easily escape Wildcat's advances without such a complicated ruse. And Wildcat's betting with himself diminishes any true challenge, among other things. Except for occasional terms such as "wigwam" and "medicine man," the story lacks an ethnic identity. Smith's chunky, thick-lined gouache paintings are a bit of a departure from her characteristic breezy, cartoonish style. Icy blue backgrounds, glowing wigwam interiors and decorative borders that sport patterns similar to those found in Native American textiles and art add a pinch of spice. Ages 6-10.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A less convoluted version of the Passamaquoddy tale retold in Shetterly's Muwin and the Magic Hare (p. 379). Here, a wildcat, who's inordinately proud of his long tail, aspires to eat the chief of all rabbits. Three times Great Rabbit tricks him by appearing as a person who feeds him what seems to be meat, but is revealed in the morning as ``squishy squash'' or ``burned beans''; when the angry wildcat rants and threatens, Great Rabbit--now in the guise of a warrior--docks his tail. Gregg's eventful retelling has a lot more dramatic tension that Shetterly's, which is interrupted by other stories; Smith's boldly expressive art serves the story well, though her brash brush-strokes and subtle palette of earth colors and muted blues and greens have less popular appeal than Shetterly's more conventional art. Fine for telling or independent reading. (Folklore/Picture book. 5-10) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.