This for That: A Togo Tale

by Verna Aardema, Victoria Chess (Illustrator)

Rabbit tricks the other animals of the African plain into giving her food and other treats

Genres: Picture Books, Africa, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1997

About the author

A prolific American children's author and teacher, Verna Norberg Aardema Vugteveen - more commonly known as Verna Aardema - was born in 1911 in New Era, Michigan. She was educated at Michigan State University, and taught grade school from 1934-1973. She also worked as a journalist for the Muskegon Chronicle from 1951-1972. In 1960 she published her first book, the collection of stories, Tales from the Story Hat. She went on to write over thirty more books, most of them folkloric retellings. Her picture-book, Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears, won co-illustrators Leo and Diane Dillon a Caldecott Medal. Aardema was married twice, and died in 2000 in Fort Myers, Florida. (source: Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the local water hole dries up, Lion and Elephant set to work digging a new well. Rabbit, on the other hand, had no interest in doing the work - she just wants to enjoy the water. When that doesn't work out, the sly creature embarks on a series of trade-offs, exchanging "this for that," and eventually finding herself back at the water hole. Will her manipulations be rewarded?

I was mostly unimpressed by this retelling of a folktale from the Tonga people of Zambia and Zimbabwe, which Aardema notes was first published in her 1973 collection, Behind the Back of the Mountain: Black Folktales from Southern Africa . The narrative was fairly bland, and Victoria Chess's illustrations seemed somewhat precious, and vaguely out of place. I wavered between two and three stars, but eventually settled on three, given my fondness for Aardema's body of work.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fable whose moral is “A lie may travel far but the truth will overtake it.”

A rabbit uses deceit to try to get what she wants. First, she expects to get water though she doesn’t help lion or elephant dig a well. Then, she tricks ostrich into giving her a feather for the berries that rabbit, herself, has eaten. The deceit continues along a line of many others, but finally Rabbit gets caught and pays the price.

[Kest Schwartzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

a solid intro to specious lawsuits for the modern child?

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Traditional literature, trickster tale from the Tonga (Bantu?)
Rabbit tricks his way into the best bits of food, although he does get his share of tricks played on him, too. Since there is lots of negotiation (I'll give you this if you give me that) this story would be good for older readers practicing sequencing and identifying cause and effect. Cartoony illustrations.

[Olivia Kliewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has very good illustrations that fit with the feel of the book. The story was engaging and has a good message at the end. It is perfect for young readers who need sequence and patters integrated within their reading.

[Lea Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very cute and adorable story that reminded me of a Native American tale that I heard when I was younger. Rabbits are very smart creatures and tend to show cleverness and sneakiness in a lot of books.