Rabbit Makes a Monkey of Lion: A Swahili Tale is a 1989 children's picture book by Verna Aardema and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney.

It is an adaption of a Swahili folktale and is about Rabbit tricking Lion over a calabash tree.

Publishers Weekly reviewed Rabbit Makes a Monkey of Lion writing "Aardema offers up a sound piece of storytelling, admirably reflected in Pinkney's full-color watercolor and pencil illustrations; he composes a lush jungle setting for the folksy antics, and brings drama to the text with his depictions of the various escapes from the hapless Lion.

"[1] and the New York Times described Pinkney's illustrations as having "a velvety softness".

[2] Rabbit Makes a Monkey of Lion has also been reviewed by the School Library Journal,[3] and Booklist.