Chufki Rabbit’s Big, Bad Bellyache: A Trickster Tale

Rodgers introduces readers to a handful of Choctaw animal names in this trickster story, which sees Chufki Rabbit faking an illness while other animals help build a house for Ms. Shukata Possum; Chufki then eats all the homemade butter that’s been prepared for the reward feast. There’s a lot of text on each page, but the folksy cadence and easygoing humor of Rodgers’s narration make the story fly by. Dressed in ballcaps, sashes, and aprons, Widener’s animal cast is a friendly bunch—even Chufki looks like a softie, despite his selfishness (which comes back to bite him, of course). Ages 5–10. (July)