Han, Suzanne. The Rabbit’s Tail. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1999.
This Korean Folklore is an exciting adventure between a cowardly tiger and a courageous rabbit. It tells the tale of how rabbits came to get their short fluffy tail because back in the day a rabbit‘s tail was much longer. The story starts when the tiger gets scared from an ‘evil creature‘. Amazed that anything could scare a tiger, the brave rabbit dashes off to see the creature. The tiger doesn’t want him to go but the rabbit does not listen and instead gets himself in trouble with the ‘evil creature’ which changes the future of rabbit tails forever.
The illustrator, Richard Wehrman uses a naïve art which is an art that is intense and the artist focuses on emotions and visions. Folk art is also illustrated in the pictures where the Korean culture stands out significantly in the artwork.
The author’s note at the very beginning of the book really helps the reader understand more about this Korean folktale and the importance of using the tiger and rabbit as characters. I really enjoyed how Suzanne Han focused on informing the reader about the story before actually reading it so we got to appreciate the culture more. I would like to say the age most appropriate for this book is 10 and up due partly to the scary artwork depicted in the tiger, but also references to a thief and an ox being eaten by the tiger.
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