The Tortoise and the Jackrabbit

Book Review:

This version of the tale of the tortoise and the hare takes place in the Sonoran Desert. It's springtime: seeds are sprouting, eggs are hatching, and cactus buds are blooming. Jackrabbit comes to the Tortoise's burrow. He tells Tortoise his big shell drags him down. As for the Jackabbit, he's free and fastest. Tortoise challenges the rabbit to race, and Jackrabbit accepts.

The Roadrunner marks the course through the desert and Rattlesnake draws the starting line. Tortoise and Jackrabbit take their places, and the race begins. Tortoise moves slowly through the landscape, enjoying the blooming prickly pear, the saguaro cactus, and the flowers of the desert. Jackrabbit has a good lead and decides to rest under a mesquite tree. He falls asleep. Tortoise walks past the sleeping rabbit and heads straight for the finish line where the Sonoran Desert animals await the winner.

The familiar story line makes this book fun to read to a class or share with a friend. The illustrations by Jim Harris are acrylic and watercolors on Strathmore paper. He provides extraordinary detail for both setting and the characters. Tortoise, for example, is small and frail and wears reading gl'sses and a hat with matching purse. Jackrabbit wears overalls with carpenter's suspenders. The background and other characters have just as much detail as Jackrabbit and Tortoise. In the author's notes, Susan Lowell discusses the current threats to tortoises in the Southwestern deserts.

 

About the Book | Book Review | Children's Voices | Interview | Lesson Plan | About the Reviewer