Raccoon's Last Race

Module 3

Bruchac, Joseph and James Bruchac. 2004. Raccoon's last race. Ill. by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.

In this retelling of a Native American tale, Azban or Raccoon is the fastest runner of all the animals. Unfortunately, his pride in his ability leads him to taunt the other animals until finally many of them stop speaking to him. One day he challenged Big Rock to race him. Big Rock didn't want to travel but Azban, so sure of himself, pushed Big Rock off the hill. Big Rock had never moved before and didn't know how to stop: he rolls over Azban and flattens him. In desperation Azban calls for help, but the only animals who will help him are the ants. He tells them he will be their friend if they will help stretch him back into shape. Before they finish the job, he returns to his selfish ways and like many other tricksters, gets what he really deserves. The illustrations help tell the story using pen and ink, gouache (painting with opaque watercolors), and pastel. They show the movements of the animals they try to race Azban. The animal characters faces are shown with expression. Even Big Rock has personality. The book has done a great job of remaining true to the traditional Abenaki Azban the Raccoon tales and is recommended for grades K-4.