Jackalope by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel

Summary: 

The story is narrated by a cowboy armadillo who sits in a lawn chair.  Jackalope is the story of Jack and his Fairy Godrabbit. Jack doesn't want to be an ordinary jack rabbit anymore so he wishes upon a star and his Fairy Godrabbit appears. With her help, she grants him his wish of having the horns of an antelope. Jack longs to be a fierce and frightening creature. His Fairy Godrabbit warns Jack there is a condition after granting him his wish. He cannot tell a lie. Jack is so excited, that he doesn't listen to her warning. He first lies to the hummingbird and his horns get bigger. Then he lies to the squirrel and his horns get even bigger. After lying to both his friends, he encounters the big bad coyote. The coyote wants to eat him like a jackrabbit kabob. Jack's Fairy Godrabbit appears to help Jack but magic dust is accidentally sprinkled all over her instead. Now the horns have disappeared off Jack and are on the Fairy Godrabbit's head. Jack tries to save her from being the coyote's dessert. He bravely distracts the coyote by appearing as a giant bush-rabbit. He coyote is so amused with the bush-rabbit he laughs all the way home. The Fairy Godrabbit wishes for the horns to be off her head and they magically vanish turning her into an ordinary hare. In the end, Jack and Jill are just two ordinary happy jackrabbits.   

 

Mrs. Garza's Thoughts:
Jackalope uses humor, wit and puns to explain the jackalope mystery. The story is a cross between a tall tale and a fractured fable with many references to Cinderella's mirror and having a Fairy Godrabbit. There are also references to the story of Pinocchio. Jackalope's horns grow bigger when he tells a lie. There's also a the big bad wolf character, the coyote, like from Little Red Riding Hood.  I think kids young kids would enjoy hearing the story but a little bit older students would get the humor. The story is rather lengthy so I would recommend reading the book to older children. The illustrations add more humor to the story with the Fairy Godrabbit dressed in a vegetable looking dress. In the end, students will learn to just be their ordinary self. We sometimes wish for things that we don't need. We don't need to be scary and fierce like Jack wants to be! JUST BE YOURSELF!! Ordinary is always best!