School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-5-Following an excellent two-page introduction about Bruh Rabbit stories and her experiences with them, McGill presents five entertaining tales. In "Please Don't Fling Me in the Briar Patch," Bruh Rabbit cleverly outwits the animals that want to punish him for stealing their dinner. Next, a good-hearted possum is taken advantage of by a snake. In "How the Critters Got Groceries," Bruh Cooter helps possum catch a meal. Bruh Rabbit returns in the last two selections, first tricking Bruh Fox into taking a beating for him, and then trying to win the hand of Bruh King's daughter. McGill begins and ends each story with a few comments, including where and from whom she first heard it, musings about its moral, and a personal anecdote or two. The text is lengthy, but children will be riveted by the storytelling. Done in acrylic paint on textured paper, the mostly full-page illustrations are filled with vivid colors and details. Tate captures the personality of each of the characters, as well as the humor inherent in these stories. Varying perspectives keep the action moving. This excellent collection makes a great choice for reading aloud and will appeal to a wide audience. It's also a strong addition for libraries looking for contemporary versions of Bruh Rabbit tales.-Mary N. Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
McGill (Molly Bannaky), a professional storyteller, presents five folktales she grew up hearing during her childhood in rural North Carolina in this magically told but weakly illustrated collection. Writing in a cadenced dialect perfect for reading aloud, she breathes life into a cast of animal characters familiar from the Uncle Remus stories. Here, Brer Rabbit is Bruh Rabbit, but he's still the same smooth fast-talker ("Bruh Rabbit is as slick as lye soap"). The stories are heavy on country wisdom: in "Bruh Possum and the Snake," a kind possum helps a sly serpent, who repays him with a bite. The lesson? "No matter how good your heart, if you ever spot trouble, don't never trouble trouble if trouble don't trouble you." McGill frames each tale with reminiscences about the storytellers who enthralled her as a child, such as Gramma, who "made her arm and hand slither out of her apron pocket just like that snake," and their elderly neighbor Mister Nep, who turned his front porch into a "living stage" as he acted out the different characters' parts (according to the introduction). Less successful are Tate's (Summer Sun Risin') paintings, which, in presenting the animal cast as stiff caricatures, don't mesh with the expressive writing. Fortunately, in McGill's absorbing world, the vivid words will paint pictures all by themselves. Ages 5-8. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
The richness of African-American folklore is brought to life in five funny stories of the trickster, remembered from the author's North Carolina childhood. The introduction acknowledges the place of Joel Chandler Harris in making the stories available, but McGill credits her neighbors in telling them in more authentic and economical language. The exaggerated humor of the acrylic paintings echoes the stories. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Veteran talespinner McGill looks back to her North Carolina childhood for five trickster tales, three featuring Bruh Rabbit. Cast in country cadences, they're just right for reading--or for telling. Bruh Rabbit is snagged not by a tar baby, but by his love of music in "Please don't Fling Me in the Briar Patch." He's himself tricked out of "Looking to Get Married" and cleverly convinces gullible Bruh Fox to take his place in "Bruh Rabbit's Mystery Bag." A sample: " 'WHO THAT UP THERE?' somebody on the ground hollered. 'Who that down there?' Bruh Rabbit asked, twitching around in the sack. 'Who that up there saying "WHO THAT?" when I say, 'WHO THAT?' the same voice came back." McGill adds commentary before and after each tale, giving Joel Chandler Harris his due, but no more than that. Tate illustrates with close-up scenes of sculpted-looking animals in rural dress, often viewed from very low angles to create aptly exaggerated perspectives. Most of these are available in other versions, but the reteller has made them new with some delicious twists. (lengthy introduction) (Folktales. 7-11) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
PreS-Gr. 3. Drawing on the tales she heard from her African American family and community growing up in rural North Carolina more than 50 years ago, McGill tells five trickster stories with warmth, wit, and simple immediacy that's just right for reading aloud. There's no heavy dialect, but a colloquial voice is part of the narrative (Bruh Rabbit was a bad mammajamma. That meant he had pluck ), as are occasional elements of call and response. Based on clay models, the animal characters in human clothes are reminiscent of puppets in the big, clear oil-and-acrylic illustrations; their body language and exaggerated expressions are wonderful as they question, scheme, rage, and--sometimes--outwit the powerful. In tales such as Please Don't Fling Me in the Briar Patch, Bruh Rabbit outsmarts everyone and gets his way. But in Looking to Get Married, he can't beat the king/slave-owner (all worked for him and didn't get paid ), and the hero doesn't get the princess and live happily ever after. In both her introduction and informal headnotes, McGill talks about the fun of hearing the stories as a child and also about the history she learned later, including the fact that the sly rabbit was a spokesperson for slaves, a character brought with them from Africa. The combination of trickster fun, historical truth, and personal storytelling tradition makes this a winner. --Hazel Rochman Copyright 2004 Booklist
