Zomo the Rabbit

I really enjoyed this traditional West African folktale. I really enjoyed the illustrations and how they displayed West African culture. My favorite picture in the book is when Zomo is talking to Sky God. The illustration shows vivid patterns and colors. The two characters wear headpieces and clothes that reflect West African clothing. Even the scenery has beautiful authentic patterns. I also enjoyed the plot of the story. The plot was very simple but had interesting ways of resolving the conflict. For example, Zomo was able to retrieve one of his “impossible tasks”, getting Big Fish’s scales, by using his drum to trick Big Fish into dancing his scales off. “Big fish danced so fast that his scales fell off. Big Fish was naked... show more Quickly, Zomo scooped up the fish scales in his hat and hopped into the forest.” The main idea of this story is that tricking people for your benefit creates enemies. show less

"Zomo the Rabbit" as told by Gerald McDermott is about a rabbit that wants wisdom. He goes to the Sun God and asks for wisdom, but the Sun God tells him he must earn it. The Sun God sends Zomo on a quest to get fish scales, milk from the wild cow, and a leopard's tooth.
I really enjoyed this tale of Zomo the clever rabbit. It teaches children that to solve problems, sometimes you have to be very clever, and think things through to get what you need.
You could have the children make up their own story about how an animal got a certain trait. You could also use the book to have the students draw their favorite quest from the Sun God that the rabbit completed.

This is a traditional folk tale handed down by the people of Nigeria. Zomo is a trickster that must accomplish three tasks before he can get what he wants from the Sky god.

I liked this book because it is not like most traditional fantasy, There is a moral to the story but it is presented in a fun and funny way unlike most tales that have as everpresent pall of evil following the hero or heroine.

A scavenger hunt done by teams of kids will give them an understanding of the quest and be fun.

Have the children come up with alternate endings of the story and discuss how those endings follow the pattern of traditional fantasy or don’t

I chose this fairy tale as I was familiar with most classic European fairytales I have come across. Upon finishing I believe this was a well written and distinctively different fairy tale then we are used to in Europe and the United States. This story holds many elements of traditional African story telling which I think are a great addition to the classic collections many of us are used to. Would recommend reading to either your own children or students as there are some great lessons!

Brillantly written. Clever little story that shows you don't have to be big and fierce to win the game.

Zomo is a rabbit that lives in West Africa. Although, he is not like other rabbits, he is a trickster. His ultimate goal is find wisdom in his life. He must complete three tasks before the Sky God will give him the wish that he wants. He must trick Big Fish, Wild Cow and Leopard. He achieves this goal, but leaves them very angry. The wisdom that this Sky God then tells him is that he has to run fast to escape the wrath of those three that her tricked. This story really would be ideal for first grade through the fourth grade. It teaches them that every action that happens usually has a consequence, whether that be a good one or a bad one. Overall, I really loved reading this book because it even got me thinking about the things that I do show more in my life and how those will have a consequence even if I do not see it yet. show less

I liked this book for a few reasons. One reason was because of its illustrations. All of the illustrations were big and colorful to keep the readers engaged in reading the story. The colors are also those of African American culture. For example, Zomo the Rabbit has a shirt on that are the colors yellow, green, and red, which are colors of African American culture. These colors are seen throughout the entire book as well. I also like how this book was written. For example, in the beginning of the book it starts by, “Zomo the rabbit! He is not big, he is not strong, but he is very, very clever”. I liked this because it leaves the reader wondering why he is so clever, and it is also foreshadow of what’s going to happen later in the show more book. The big idea of this story is what goes around comes around. For example, even though Zomo did exactly what was asked of him, he angered some other animals in the process, and now he must be careful and watch his back. show less