Uncle Remus

by Joel Chandler Harris, A.B. Frost (Illustrator), Stella Brewer Brookes (Introduction)

Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 65-14828
Note: This edition does not include "A STORY OF THE WAR" or "HIS SAYINGS"
Cover copy as follows:

Among the immortal "real folks" of literature Uncle Remus' place is secure; in the ancient order of storytellers his fame is international. In the Uncle Remus books there is fancy, there is fun, there is wisdom, there is humanity. There are stories good enough to be savored for a lifetime. Mark Twain called Uncle Remus "a lovable and delightful creation." So he has remained for generations of children and their parents. These superbly told stories have been acclaimed by scholars for their fidelity to their popular sources and looked at askance for their acquiescence in post-bellum plantation tradition, Uncle Tom figure and all. But they are read as literature.

True, the framework of the stories gives interesting insights into the nineteenth century rural South, and interesting "analogues" to the folklore of Africa and Asia. But it is as art, not as a document, that we turn to Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox and their friends. Here we have a profound classic — complete because in Uncle Remus himself we are given, for all time, a truly great character, limited in his circumstance as a Negro servant of the nineteenth century South and yet forever transcending that circumstance in his artful truth.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Childrens

198 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1965

About the author

Joel Chandler Harris was an American journalist born in Eatonton, Georgia who wrote the Uncle Remus stories, including Uncle Remus; His Songs and His Sayings, The Folk-Lore of the Old Plantation, (1880), Nights with Uncle Remus (1881 & 1882), Uncle Remus and His Friends (1892), and Uncle Remus and the Little Boy (1905).

The stories, based on the African-American oral storytelling tradition, were revolutionary in their use of dialect and in featuring a trickster hero called Br'er ("Brother") Rabbit, who uses his wits against adversity, though his efforts do not always succeed. The frog is the trickster character in traditional tales in Central and Southern Africa. The stories, which began appearing in the Atlanta Constitution in 1879, were popular among both Black and White readers in the North and South, not least because they presented an idealized view of race relations soon after the Civil War. The first published Brer Rabbit stories were written by President Theodore Roosevelt's uncle, Robert Roosevelt.

Reviews

[Iryna Khomchuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Бувають речі, які чітко асоціюються з якимись подіями, з місцями, обставинами, із запахами, звуками чи навіть вітром... Такими для мене (та й для сина та чоловіка, впевнена) є Братик Лис і Братик Кролик. Оці самі, про яких розповідає дядечко Римус у серії своїх книг, але тільки з мультика. Тому й читали про пригоди давніх знайомців ми взялися практично усією родиною, повернувшись у дощовий і вітряний, однак прекрасний литовський озерний Тракай...

Хитромудрий Братик Кролик нагадує інших героїв, які діяли схоже у схожих обставинах. Казки ж ґрунтуються зазвичай на вічних бродячих сюжетах, то чому б і не проситися Кроликові, обліпленому смолою, не кидати його в жодному разі у терновий кущ, як це зробили з пресловутою Щукою, "покаравши" її. І про мертвого Братика Лиса щось подібне я десь чула. І ще деякі знайомі нотки вловлювала, доки читала синові з племінницею "Казки дядечка Римуса". А щодо дітей, то що їм іще треба, крім цікавої історії та чудових малюнків? Ну хіба трошки смачного морозива...

[Микола · Rating 5 out of 5]

Давно хотів її перечитати, і от випала нагода. Доньці С. книжка дуже зайшла.
Тож на її замовлення я її читав і перед сном, і рано-вранці, вона її носила в садок (і там переконала виховательку, що треба всім почитати).
Братиків Кролика та Лиса я пам'ятаю з дитинства (і мама пригадує їх ще зі своїх дитячих часів), класно, коли до нової, добре проілюстрованої книжки додається тяглість.

Але окремо-преокремо хочеться подякувати команді, яка працювала над виданням, за український текст. Переклад жвавий, яскравий, з купою української ідіоматики, але це виглядає — кумедно, природно і легко, в характері персонажів. Так що перекладачеві, редакторам і коректорці низький уклін!
Ми, може, не зможемо говорити такою українською, але діти наші зможуть.

[Latasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the LibriVox recording. The narrator was wonderful. He read the story in dialect which in turn gave it a very folk tale-ish feel. I loved it!

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 2 out of 5]

ENGLISH: I liked more the stories included in "Song of the South" by Disney. Perhaps part of the problem was that Uncle Remus speaks almost incomprehensible.

ESPAÑOL: Me gustaron más las historias del "hermano Rabito" incluidas en la película de Disney, "canción del Sur". Quizá parte del problema sea la forma de hablar del Tío Remus.

[Agnes DiPietrantonio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hesitated before reviewing this

I hesitated before reviewing this. These days it is looked upon with derision as being racist among other things. Once I got past the current trend, I realized how much I miss the simplicity of a well told tale. These are beautiful stories retold lovingly by Joel Chandler Harris as they were told to him in his childhood by the elderly black man who worked for his father. There is no reason in the world why we, today, cannot enjoy and cherish them as well.

[Marva · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this reminds me of the stories my grandfather used to tell me. The book is quite politically incorrect for these days and times, but not considered so in those days. As far as I am concerned as a voice in the wilderness, this is a good book. Some of us black and white grew up with these parables. It tells of a time, in code, when blacks had to be on their toes to always stay one step ahead of their captors.

[Bert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this story collection from the Librivox site. The speaker, Phil Chenevert , Did a fabulous job.

These are typical Brer Rabbit stories, with him tricking others and laughing at the results. You will encounter many more 'creeturs' than what you remember from the Walt Disney adaption. Wonderful rhyming of stories and recalling the innocence of childhood.

[Tania · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of folktales

Uncle Remus tells his young charge the African American folktales that feature Brer Rabbit and his peers Brer Fox, Brer Bear, Brer Wolf, and others through a series of misadventures. Brer Rabbit is a trickster, and so to get himself out of a jam he gets others into them. Each story ends with a moral or lesson, and the young boy shows compassion with his concern over the fictional characters in the stories. Many derivative works have made their appearance over the years, though this telling is itself a derivative work of the older traditional tales.

[Bert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this story collection from the Librivox site. The speaker, Phil Chenevert , Did a fabulous job.

These are typical Brer Rabbit stories, with him tricking others and laughing at the results. You will encounter many more 'creeturs' than what you remember from the Walt Disney adaption. Wonderful rhyming of stories and recalling the innocence of childhood.

[Ethan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I went into this not really knowing what a 'Brer Rabbit' and I have now left having gained nothing.
I found the dialogue quite difficult to gather meaning from and honestly skipped over a couple of words out of pure boredom.
If you found meaning or some positive aspect in this, I am quite glad for you, but all I have found is a waste of time.

[Alyssa Bohon · Rating 3 out of 5]

So fun to read aloud!

[Sheila Metcalf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m always going to love any of the books from this Series. It’ll never be a disappointment but I wish this one contained more stories.

[Janelle]

Dnf. I couldn’t understand the narration. The narrator is an excellent reader, so I suspect he stuck closely to the text, and this Aussie couldn’t understand the accent.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this at the Ripon WI library sale. I believe it’s a first edition. 1906. Beautifully edited by the Author. I bought it in 2017-18?

[Maddie Scheer · Rating 3 out of 5]

1. Personal: When I picked this book to read, I didn't realize that it was so old. You could definitely tell that it was a classic read, but I felt that it was sort of dry throughout most of it. I did love the image that it presented and the small stories were cute and had a great moral purpose for each of them.
2. Purpose: This would be a great read aloud for another study on folkstories. The illustrations were incredible and you could tell that it was an old collection of stories. It would also be a great read aloud for small moral stories (fables). An individual reader would enjoy this collection if they loved to change their reader's voice and could create imagery with the way the words play out. The literary elements in these folk stories were also great - featuring a lot of figurative language and imagery throughout the words and rhythm.

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

[image error]

Wiki source - Br'er Rabbit is a central figure in the Uncle Remus stories of the Southern United States. He is a trickster character who succeeds through his wits rather than through strength, tweaking authority figures and bending social mores as he sees fit. The origin of Br'er Rabbit is linked to both Cherokee and African cultures.

Song of the South clip

[Joseph “Millennium Man” · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first children's book (or any book) that I have read where the main character is a prankster like I have only seen in classic cartoons. Could Brer Rabbit have been their inspiration?
Slaves were forbidden to read or write so it makes sense that the text is thick Ebonics. I loved the illustrations.

[Bert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this story collection from the Librivox site. The speaker, Phil Chenevert , Did a fabulous job.

These are typical Brer Rabbit stories, with him tricking others and laughing at the results. You will encounter many more 'creeturs' than what you remember from the Walt Disney adaption. Wonderful rhyming of stories and recalling the innocence of childhood.

[Bert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this story collection from the Librivox site. The speaker, Phil Chenevert , Did a fabulous job.

These are typical Brer Rabbit stories, with him tricking others and laughing at the results. You will encounter many more 'creeturs' than what you remember from the Walt Disney adaption. Wonderful rhyming of stories and recalling the innocence of childhood.

[Bert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this story collection from the Librivox site. The speaker, Phil Chenevert , Did a fabulous job.

These are typical Brer Rabbit stories, with him tricking others and laughing at the results. You will encounter many more 'creeturs' than what you remember from the Walt Disney adaption. Wonderful rhyming of stories and recalling the innocence of childhood.

[Bert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this story collection from the Librivox site. The speaker, Phil Chenevert , Did a fabulous job.

These are typical Brer Rabbit stories, with him tricking others and laughing at the results. You will encounter many more 'creeturs' than what you remember from the Walt Disney adaption. Wonderful rhyming of stories and recalling the innocence of childhood.

[Bert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this story collection from the Librivox site. The speaker, Phil Chenevert , Did a fabulous job.

These are typical Brer Rabbit stories, with him tricking others and laughing at the results. You will encounter many more 'creeturs' than what you remember from the Walt Disney adaption. Wonderful rhyming of stories and recalling the innocence of childhood.

[Bert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this story collection from the Librivox site. The speaker, Phil Chenevert , Did a fabulous job.

These are typical Brer Rabbit stories, with him tricking others and laughing at the results. You will encounter many more 'creeturs' than what you remember from the Walt Disney adaption. Wonderful rhyming of stories and recalling the innocence of childhood.

[Bert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this story collection from the Librivox site. The speaker, Phil Chenevert , Did a fabulous job.

These are typical Brer Rabbit stories, with him tricking others and laughing at the results. You will encounter many more 'creeturs' than what you remember from the Walt Disney adaption. Wonderful rhyming of stories and recalling the innocence of childhood.

[Bert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this story collection from the Librivox site. The speaker, Phil Chenevert , Did a fabulous job.

These are typical Brer Rabbit stories, with him tricking others and laughing at the results. You will encounter many more 'creeturs' than what you remember from the Walt Disney adaption. Wonderful rhyming of stories and recalling the innocence of childhood.

[Bert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this story collection from the Librivox site. The speaker, Phil Chenevert , Did a fabulous job.

These are typical Brer Rabbit stories, with him tricking others and laughing at the results. You will encounter many more 'creeturs' than what you remember from the Walt Disney adaption. Wonderful rhyming of stories and recalling the innocence of childhood.

[Bert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this story collection from the Librivox site. The speaker, Phil Chenevert , Did a fabulous job.

These are typical Brer Rabbit stories, with him tricking others and laughing at the results. You will encounter many more 'creeturs' than what you remember from the Walt Disney adaption. Wonderful rhyming of stories and recalling the innocence of childhood.

[Bert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this story collection from the Librivox site. The speaker, Phil Chenevert , Did a fabulous job.

These are typical Brer Rabbit stories, with him tricking others and laughing at the results. You will encounter many more 'creeturs' than what you remember from the Walt Disney adaption. Wonderful rhyming of stories and recalling the innocence of childhood.

[Bert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this story collection from the Librivox site. The speaker, Phil Chenevert , Did a fabulous job.

These are typical Brer Rabbit stories, with him tricking others and laughing at the results. You will encounter many more 'creeturs' than what you remember from the Walt Disney adaption. Wonderful rhyming of stories and recalling the innocence of childhood.

[Bert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this story collection from the Librivox site. The speaker, Phil Chenevert , Did a fabulous job.

These are typical Brer Rabbit stories, with him tricking others and laughing at the results. You will encounter many more 'creeturs' than what you remember from the Walt Disney adaption. Wonderful rhyming of stories and recalling the innocence of childhood.