Rhinos for Lunch and Elephants for Supper!

Rhinos for Lunch and Elephants for Supper! A Maasai Tale by Tololwa M. Mollel. Illus. by Barbara Spurll, 1991.


When little hare returns to her den for a nap, she is driven away by the booming voice of a monster. Before she even enters, she needs to turn tail and flee. A number of her animal friends try to help her, but each time they are menaced by the voice of the one who craves rhinos and elephants for its meals. Finally, a grumpy frog who has been trying to sleep through the noise takes on the monster. Larger creatures have failed, but this froggy is calm and confident. She is sure to get results!

Spurll’s pictures are bordered by geometric patterns in black, red, blue and green. Her animals are fanciful and rubber faced. An elder leopard in reading glasses shares a book with three wide-eyed cubs. Our heroine, the frog, boldly chews on a pipe and brandishes a walking cane. And the red cheeked, many legged monster cracks a one sided grin as he moves on. Little creatures such as snakes, birds and lizards watch the proceedings at the cave’s mouth.