THE TALES OF UNCLE REMUS; THE STORIES OF BRER RABBIT

My dad read "Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby" to me when I was little. I remember the tiny black and white pictures showing Brer Rabbit getting progressively stuck and the trickyness of his plea, "Please don't throw me in the briar patch!" We also saw the Walt Disney movie based on these stories, "Song of the South."

I enjoyed reading Julius Lester’s foreward, where he explained the changes he made in the dialect, the plantation setting, and the “faithful darky” portrayal of Uncle Remus. He also saluted the original author for his dedication to publishing only authentic African American stories and reproducing the language of the former slaves in his area of the South.

After reading his foreword, I began to hear Denzel Washington’s voice as I read the stories. That enhanced the reading experience! It made me want to be with a group of children as they get involved in the stories and delight in Brer Rabbit’s tricks.