Title: Rabbit makes a Monkey of Lion
Author: Verna Aardema
Favorite Characters: Rabbit, Turtle, honey guide

Rabbit and Bush-rat are leaded to some honey up in a calabash tree by a honey guide one morning. While they began eating honey the Lion came and said that it was his honey. He vowed that he would eat whoever was up in the tree. The Rabbit tricked the lion into chasing him away from the tree and the Bush-rat escaped. The next morning Rabbit and Turtle went for the honey and once again the lion came. The Rabbit tricked the Lion again and the Turtle also tricked the lion.
The Lion soon realized that the Rabbit was behind all this trickery. Therefore, the Lion waited at the Rabbit's house where he would eat the Rabbit as soon as he returns. In the end, the Lion fools himself and you'll have to find out how by reading this book....

Sebgugugu The Glutton is not only fun to say, it is an excellent read. Verna Aardema's use of Bantu animal sounds lends an authentic air to this tale. In addition, this story teaches children valuable lessons about pride and selfishness. Nancy Clouse's illustrations are bold and engaging. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for an excellent read aloud.

Mrs. Aardema was a great teacher, she shared her stories from this book with her class of first grade students while she worked on collecting them. She really did have story hats, depending what kind of story she was about to tell depended on which hat she would put on. Re-reading this book as brought back the many lessons and good times I recall from first grade in Mrs, Aadremna's class and her special stories and her hats!

Mrs. Aardema's storys are always about the lessons of life. What an enjoyable and memorable way to remember these great lessons.

This tiny mosquito scared everybody in the jungle because the animals have an alarm system. One animal runs one way and another the opposite way and this bird chirps and this rabbit hops and so on and so on. The animals do this to show that there is danger ahead. This works, but this time it was a false alarm. In all the commotion a baby owl falls out of a tree and dies. Now the owl will not make the sun come up.

I don't have children, but I can still appreciate the fact that this book has a valuable moral lesson about the dangers of gossip and rumors. Verna Aardema has written other wonderful books but this is my favorite because even a very young child can learn something from the simple story. The illustrations are exquisite (hence the Caldecott Medal) but they don't outshine this wonderful allegory.

I liked it when the iguana pusts sticks in his ears because the mosquito told him a big lie. I liked it when the snake hid down in the rabbit's hole because the iguana wouldn't say hello to the snake. Catherine. Age 8

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears by Verna Aardema, Pictures by Leo and Diane Dillion. New York: Scholastic, Inc., 1975.

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears is an African folktale which offers a great lesson to be learned by children. The story is about a mosquito who tells a lie to an iguana and annoys the iguana. This sets off a series of events that affects everyone who lives in the forest and the initiation of daylight.

It is an excellent story for a young reader to learn the consquence of telling lies and the detrimental affect it can have on individuals and/or communities. After reading this story to a child parents should ascertain whether the child understood the lesson of this folktale and emphasize how important it is to always tell the truth.

The illustrations in this book are spectacular. Each page is filled with brigthly-colored pictures that will capture the interest of a young child and keep them reading until the very end. The illustrations also correspond directly to the storyline which will give the young reader the ability to glance at the pictures and help them read the printed words.

This is not only a good story for children, but for adults too. The end offers a humorous reason for why mosquitoes buzz in people's ears, and why people shoo them away. This is definitely a good book to keep in every home and school library.

Nancy Paretti

I'll be 30 this year and I remember my father reading this to me when I was a kid. I loved all the different voices he did for the series of animals in it. In fact, I loved it so much that it was one of 3 stories I had my father record himself reading so I could play it for my son whenever he wanted to hear it. If you're looking for a book you can have fun reading, this is a great choice!

The illustrations in this book simply couldn't be more beautiful. It's spectacular to look at, and my son thinks so too. He loves pointing out each of the animals over and over again, commenting on colors and the sun.

The retold African folktale is a great read, a good sequence of events, and a good illustration of logical consequence. My only argument (and this is with interpretation rather than the book itself) is that: a)nobody asks the mosquito what happened and b) what the mosquito tells the igauna in the beginning isn't a lie. It's silly and irrelevant, yes, but she's not lying. The farmer was undoubtably digging up yams bigger than the mosquito. Maybe it's just my sympathy for the underdog here, but I think the mosquito got a bad deal.

"Why Mosquitoes Buss In People's Ears" is a wonderful tale that teaches children about the cyclical paterns that are found through out nature. This retelling of an old African folk tale attempts to explain why mosquitoes buzz in people's ears. The story unravels a world in which a mosquito said something annoying to the iguana. The iguana placed sticks in his ears to ignore the mosquito. A series of reactive animal behaviors unfolds until eventually a monkey inadvertently killes a baby owl which causes the mother owl to forget to wake the sun. The mosquito was blamed for the fiasco and now mosquitos buzz in people's ears because they are whispering to see if we are still mad with them. The illustrations in the book are vivid and colorful, and drawn in a simple and artistic manner. This story is a great read for the developing child. There is much to think about, to joke about and to laugh about in the telling of this story. It also does a great service to the child by introducing them to a form of african literature that they might have never seen before. The only reason I do not give this book five stars is because I do not consider it an ultimate classic children's book, but don't let that turn you off from reading this wonderful story to your children.

This is a folk tale from West Africa. As a teacher, I would highly suggest it when working on a unit of multi-cultural literature. The story is circular, and offers an opportunity to explore cause and effect. Beautifully illustrated, and unique in it's writing style, I would recommend it to children from 1st to 3rd grade!

The book was the Caldecott Medal winner in 1976 for the best illustrated children's book of that year. The book is a retold version of a West African folk tale which will charm anyone who hears it.

This book is not only good for parents to read to their children, it is also appropriate for use in the classroom for K - 2nd grade. The book subtly explores the unseen hand of causation to expand children's horizons about the effects of what they do. In so doing, it raises a number of interesting issues that you can discuss together.

The story is organized as follows. A mosquito sets off a string of causation. At the end of the causation, there is an investigation which gradually unveils the causation. Realizing the causation solves the problem, and has an unintended consequence.

The book's overall point is that we all need to be better listeners. Since poor communication and listening are the most important causes of problems, this story can be the foundation to focus a child on improving in both of those areas.

"The mosquito siad, 'I saw a farmer digging yams that were almost as big as I am.'"

"I would rather be deaf than listen to such nonsense!" was the Iguana's reaction. So he put 2 sticks into his ears to block out the sound of the mosquito. (Hardly a good role model for listening.) Because Iguana could not hear, he ignored Python's greeting. Frightened by this, Python dived down the nearest rabbit hole. Doing this caused the rabbit to scurry away. Crow spotted the rabbit running, and raised the alarm that danger was near. Monkey heard the cry and leapt through the trees. One of the branches broke, and Monkey fell into Owl's nest killing an owlet. When Mother Owl returned, she was so heart broken she could not hoot to awaken the sun. So night continued.

King Lion called a meeting of the animals to investigate. Beginning with Owl, he uncovers the source of the problem. The last to be questioned was Iguana. "Yes," said the iguana. "It was mosquito's fault." The cry went up, "Punish the mosquito!"

"When Mother Owl heard that, she was satisfied. She turned her head towards the east and hooted . . . ."

"And the sun came up."

Mosquito has listened to all this from a nearby bush. Mosquito crept away.

"But because of this the mosquito has a guilty consicence."

"To this day she goes about whining in people's ears. 'Zeee! Is everyone still angry at me?'"

"When she does that, she gets an honest answer."

The illustrations are based on cut-outs of vivid pastel shades that make the story even more lively.

As you can see, the book takes causation past where responsibility really goes. So you will have a chance to discuss that mosquito wasn't really guilty of the owlet's death. It was just an accident. The mosquito was an indirect cause of the owlet's death, but not a blameworthy one. Iguana plays a much bigger and more blameworthy role, but is still not a murderer. But everyone tends to see the blame lying elsewhere (in this story, as in real life).

Obviously, the science facts are not all correct here. The sun would rise anyway, and the mosquito's sound probably plays some role in reproduction. You should discuss with your child how the human mind makes associations that are not logical and miss the real causes.

Also, who should be punished in this story? Actually, no one, but societies tend to create punishments even for innocent activity. This animal group is no exception.

Despite not being guilty, mosquito still feels uncomfortable. This is a good thing to discuss. Victims of crimes often blame themselves for somehow causing their own victimization.

Finally, what would have been a better response by Iguana? Why did Python run rather than sticking around to get better information? You can use these areas to help you child understand the important role of questions in unlocking solutions.

I also suggest that you practice a little together. Find some event, and try to trace the causes of the event back to the contributing origins. Perhaps you'll help stimulate a better thinker as a result!

Ask questions until you understand!

I brought this book on a recent visit to my nieces and they loved it. We reread it many times during my visit, enjoying the beautiful illustrations of african animals.

This book charmed our family for quite a long time. It is a retelling of an African tale which traces the beginings of the mosquito's buzz. The disasterous effects involve many different animals with many different reactions. This tale is sure to amuse and delight any and all readers.

I loved the book because of how creative one can become with it. I am going to read it to my son's 2nd grade class and have them participate to bring the animals to life.

"Bimwili and the Zimwi" is a traditional folktale from Zanzibar. Two sisters go to the beach; the older sister fails to keep an eye on the younger, Bimwili, and Bimwili is abducted by a monster, the Zimwi, who makes her sing while imprisoned in a drum, which he then exhibits as a marvelous "singing drum". Bimwili devises a clever trick to escape and eventually the Zimwi is destroyed. Bimwili's escape makes her the hero. The illustrations add to the story, showing how the Zimwi attracted Bimwili's attention. The story may be a wee bit frightening, but this is very typical of folktales and fairytales the world over (what would Hansel and Gretel be if it weren't a bit scary?, and aren't "watch out for strangers" and "take care of your little sister" good lessons for children?). This is a good book if you're looking for a story from Africa to add to your collection.

"African Folk Tales" (Dover Children's Thrift Classics) by Hugh Vernon-Jackson (Editor), is also recommended and is a bargain.

Please see my reviews of other books about Africa.

Bimwili and the Zimwi Book Review

Bimwili and the Zimwi by Verna Aarden is a good book. It is about a green ugly monster named Zimwi and a little girl named Bimwili. My favorite part was when Bimwili's family put sand in the drum and while the monster was fetching water, they got Bimwili back. That was funny!! I learned that you should always keep track of your stuff. My other favorite part was when she sang a song with the shell against her ear. Another favorite part was when they ran away from the big pumpkin.

By Josias

Bimwili and the Zimwi is an enchanting and suspenseful story. A small child is captured by an evil magician and rescued by her family. Although it could be frightening to the very young , it provides an excellent catalyst for conversations about personal safety and "listening to one's little voice inside". It also provides a multicultural setting. I highly recommend this title for home or curricular libraries!!