Children's Books

TEN LITTLE RABBITS, Virginia Grossman. San Francisco :Chronicle Books, 1991. (Picture book), ages 3-6.

A twist on the counting book theme featuring rabbits dressed as "Indians" and involved in "Indian" activities. Although the illustrations are beautiful, the messages conveyed are confusing. Each page shows the rabbits/Indians dressed in the manner of a different tribe, but this isn't explained until the end of the book, in an afterward. The impression given is one of generic "Indianness", and once again animals "become" Indians simply by putting on certain articles of clothing, relegating an entire race to the status of a role or profession. A book to avoid. Reviewed by Lisa Mitten and Naomi Caldwell-Wood