This for That [Hardcover]

Verna Aardema (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up

When Rabbit is unable to convince Lion and Elephant that even though she didn't help dig their watering hole, she's entitled to drink from it, she sets off to find other more gullible creatures. Venturing from ostrich to man to ant and back again, Rabbit's crafty bartering techniques are quite successful--until her own boastfulness gets the best of her. Full color.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this humorous tale, revised from an entry in the author's 1973 collection Behind the Back of the Mountain, an opportunistic rabbit on an African savanna unrepentantly cons her friends. She gets Ostrich to locate some berry bushes, slyly devours all the fruit and blames Ostrich for the theft. Then, to make up for the "missing" berries, Rabbit demands one of Ostrich's feathers, which she exchanges for other valuables. In the finale, mildly disappointing because it shows a punishment but no lesson learned, the trickster receives a mighty kick from Ostrich, along with the moral: "A lie may travel far, but the truth will overtake it." Consummate storyteller Aardema (Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears) reworks this Tonga folktale with her trademark onomatopoeia-Rabbit eats berries "lup, lup, lup"; Ostrich runs "tuk-pik, tuk-pik." Chess (Princess Gorilla and a New Kind of Water), using a tawny palette, crafts straw-yellow grasses, red-dirt roads and olive-green bushes, then tweaks her compositions with cagey details, such as giraffe-patterned tree trunks. She neatly frames the images in borders resembling woven reeds, and attires the guileful Rabbit in a clownish skirt of yellow-and-red feathers. As the action progresses, a golden sun sets to a red glow behind blue mountains, adding to this book's strong visual appeal. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3. A retelling of a Bantu fable, set in the "region north of the Limpopo River." When the animals' water hole runs dry, Rabbit refuses to help dig the new well, even though she expects to drink from it when it is finished. Lion and Elephant say, "No work, no water." Thirsty Rabbit complains to Ostrich, who generously shares some juicy berries. Rabbit goes back and devours every last berry but denies the theft, setting off a chain of events and trades with other animals that result in Rabbit's getting an old-fashioned kick in the seat for lying. Aardema's storytelling is highly readable, spiced with original sound effects such as Ostrich running ("tuk-pik, tuk-pik"). Chess interprets the tale nicely in her devilishly droll style. The characters' facial expressions are hilarious, particularly Rabbit's range of smug looks when someone new falls for her tricks. Watercolors in the bright earth tones of the African plain are detailed with light, textural hatching to suggest fur, feathers, parched soil, or the giraffe-skin bark of indigenous trees. Each drawing is framed with a sepia border, a zigzag design that resembles thatching. A satisfying tale of comeuppance.?Karen MacDonald, Teaticket Elementary School, MA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Dial; 1st edition (February 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803715536
• ISBN-13: 978-0803715530
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,975,798 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Wrong country, September 23, 2005

By 

C. Tupou "sharp eyes" (Utah, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: This for That (Hardcover)

This has got to be "A Togo Tale" since there are no giraffes or rabitts in Tonga. Correct the mistake for future shoppers.