Because he doesn't listen carefully to what the Great Spirit tells him about each of the animals he is supposed to lead to their desert homes, Jackrabbit causes much unhappiness with his careless answers to the animals' questions. Ages 5-8. When the Great Spirit creates the desert and the creatures who will live there, he designates the jackrabbit to guide the animals to their new homes and explain their special adaptations, which make them well suited to their environment. The flightly rabbit doesn't listen well, though, and when Tortoise asks why he's so slow, Jackrabbit hems and haws and finally makes up a disconcerting answer: "Because you're not as smart as I am." He also saddens Roadrunner and Bobcat with his fabricated answers to their questions, until the Great Spirit realizes what's happening and gives Jackrabbit a new adaptation of his own: big ears to help him listen better to what he's told. This original pourquoi story has the flavor of a folktale and reads aloud well. Full of energy and strong on characterization, the lively paintings will project the story back to the last row of the classroom or story hour. Carolyn Phelan Used Book in Good Condition