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From School Library Journal

July 1, 2014

K-Gr 2-Choctaw storyteller Rodgers recounts a proverbial Native American trickster tale. Lazy Chukfi Rabbit's neighbor, Ms. Shukata Possum, needs a new house. She promises a delicious dinner including a tub of the best butter ever to everyone who will join the construction team. All the animals, except Chukfi, work together to help Shukata. While they sweep, hammer, and saw, he pretends illness, steals the butter, and eats it all. Just as the sun sets, Chukfi returns to the work site, ready to pitch in. Of course, the others have already completed the job. Nevertheless, Shukata generously invites Chukfi to share the meal. When the others discover the empty butter tub, Chukfi deflects the blame onto poor Nita Bear, but they soon figure out that he is the true culprit. As punishment for his duplicity, the rabbit suffers from "one really, really big, bad bellyache," but has Chukfi learned his lesson? Despite the situation with Chukfi, Ms. Shukata Possum and her friends go home happy because they know that "helping others is always more joyful than even the best butter ever." The narrative is enhanced by a sprinkling of Choctaw vocabulary and details of Native American culture, as well as Widener's watercolor and pencil illustrations. She portrays the anthropomorphic animals dressed in shirts, hats, or aprons, working together in a springtime landscape of soft greens and blues. The large, plush characters dominate each spread. Pair this story with Helen Ketteman's Armadilly Chili (Albert Whitman, 2004) for a trickster storytime.-Linda L. Walkins, Saint Joseph Preparatory High School, Boston, MA

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Kirkus

Starred review from May 15, 2014
Like tricksters in traditions everywhere, "Chukfi Rabbit is lay-zeeee."In a time long ago, the narrator tells readers in an assured voice, Ms. Shukata Possum organizes "an everybody-work-together day to build her" a new house. Chukfi pleads prior commitments-until he hears that "fresh homemade butter" will be served with dinner. Well, that rotten rabbit shows up but disappears as soon as he can, going down to the spring where Ms. Possum is keeping the butter cool and eating it all up while feigning illness. Greedy Chukfi! When the workday is finished, he must pretend a great appetite, "even though his belly [is] great-big stuffed." A giant, buttery belch betrays him, of course. Choctaw storyteller Rodgers invests the tale, found in the archives of the Oklahoma History Center, with plenty of humor and oral flair. From the spring, Chukfi hears the "saw-saw-sawing and the ham-ham-hammering"; as "they didn't really have hammers back in those days, [the turtle] kindly agree[s]" to substitute. Choctaw illustrator Widener dresses her animal characters in a melange of traditional and contemporary attire; Chula Fox and Luksi Turtle sport black, brimmed hats and tasseled belts, while Kinta Beaver wears a denim work shirt and a baseball cap. Both text and illustrations positively exude good humor.Chukfi is a trickster worthy of the name, and this fresh, funny tale makes an excellent addition to the genre. (author's notes) (Picture book. 5-8)

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From Publisher's Weekly

April 28, 2014
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.