Bruh Rabbit and the Tar Baby Girl

Virginia Hamilton
paintings by James E. Ransome
Blue Sky  September 2003  059047376X   $16.95
34 pages  10 ¼ x 9 ¼ Ages 4-8 

“It was a far time ago, and before a first winter snow, that Bruh Wolf had a run-in with pesty Bruh Rabbit.” So begins Hamilton’s version of the classic tale of the perennial trickster rabbit, influenced by the story collected and recorded “in fairly heavy Gullah speech of the Sea Islands of South Carolina.” Her enchanting story-telling voice can be relished here and will be greatly missed. Hard-working Bruh Wolf, tired of having his fields raided, sets up a “scarey-crow.” But lazy Bruh Rabbit, who has been eating Bruh Wolf’s crops, just knocks it down. So Bruh Wolf makes a sticky Tar Baby Girl. This gets Bruh Rabbit stuck for sure. Bruh Wolf finds him the next morning and is ready to eat him. But of course Bruh Rabbit’s plea, “Don’t throw me in the briar bush,” simply incites Bruh Wolf to do just that. Back in his own territory, Bruh Rabbit goes on his way, laughing at Bruh Wolf’s gullibility.
            Ransome’s visual narrative depicts the contest of wills between the two anthropomorphic traditional enemies, creating detailed scenes of neat rows of fenced-in crops and a rural homestead. He gives believable personalities to the diligent wolf and the lazy but crafty rabbit in a series of theatrical episodes, building tension to the climax. Rabbit crouches with taut muscles as he creeps up on the Tar Baby Girl. The attack is shown in dramatic silhouette against a full moon. Wolf observes his captive in an aggressive posture with paws on hips. The naturalistic watercolor illustrations, painted in loose brushstrokes, animate the story well, producing a somewhat light-hearted moralistic tale. A note “About the Story” adds information on the background history of the story and the characters, with explanations of some of the vocabulary used.

-Ken and Sylvia Marantz

 

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