Lester, J. (1987). The tales of Uncle Remus: the adventures of Brer Rabbit. New York: Puffin Books.
This delightful book is an example of traditional literature. Julius Lester retells ancient stories that came from the oral stories of the African slaves. Brer Rabbit is the main character in these stories who is quite clever and quite the trickster. In these beast tales, the animals talk and have overstated action. For example, early on in the book Brer Rabbit tricks Brer Wolf and kills him by pouring hot water on him. However, a few stories later, Brer Wolf is back! Lester explains this by saying, "But you got to understand: Back before 'once upon a time,' dying was different. Just because you died in one story didn't mean you stayed dead for the rest of the stories. That wouldn't be no fun, would it? Of course not."
In retelling the stories of Brer Rabbit and his "friends," Lester is able to preserve the flavor of the culture and language, while at the same time, writing it in such a way that the modern reader can understand and relate to it. In the tale "End of Brer Bear," Brer Bear is going to see his girlfriend even though he has a wife and family. As the storyteller, Lester adds this commentary: "Don't come asking me how they worked the thing out with each other. From what I hear, folks be doing the same thing now. The animals was doing it long before deodorant, that's all."
The Tales of Uncle Remus: The Adventures of Brer Rabbit is a very entertaining collection of stories that can be enjoyed by all ages. The mere enjoyment and humor of the stories is appealing. In reading the stories to younger students, lessons could also be learned about being clever and honest. Older students could delve more into the actual African slave traditions and the importance of these oral stories. Comparisons could be made with other beast tales, including more modern tricksters such as Bugs Bunny.
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