Folklore Children's literature Fantasy Oral tradition Race relations Trickery Wisdom vs. Foolishness
Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit is a book written by Joel Chandler Harris and first published in 1907.
The book is a collection of folk tales starring Brer Rabbit and his friends Brer Fox, Brer Bear or Brer Wolf among others. The tales come from the African-American oral tradition and were told to Joel Chandler Harris by the old black man who worked for his father.
Brer Rabbit is a prankster and a trickster and often gets others into trouble so he can get rid of them. Simple and ideal for children, each story ends with a moral or lesson.
Some of the stories are criticized today for stereotyping the black community and idealizing slavery. However, their importance is vital because they are among the few historical records of animal tales pertaining to African-American folklore.
"Once ’pon a time,” said Uncle Remus to the little boy—“But when was once upon a time?” the child interrupted to ask. The old man smiled. “I speck ’twuz one time er two times, er maybe a time an’ a half. You know when Johnny Ashcake ’gun ter bake? Well, ’twuz ’long in dem days. Once ’pon a time,” he resumed, “Mr. Man had a gyarden so fine dat all de neighbors come ter see it."
#116 in Short Stories (this month)
#53 in Children's (this month)
The Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit book is available for download in PDF, ePUB and Mobi:
Copyright info
Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit by Joel Chandler Harris is believed to be in the public domain in the United States only. It may still be copyrighted in other countries. If you are not in the United States, please check your local laws to ensure this eBook is in the public domain in your country before downloading Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit in PDF or ePub.
Trickster wit in tales that travel widely—and a complicated publication history. Read for folklore roots and narrative cleverness, with eyes open to framing and context.
Best as a comparative read: pair with modern retellings and scholarship to see how stories carry cultural harm and resilience at once.
Motifs that cross centuries.
How framing shapes reception.
New tellings that repair and honor.
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Folklore retellings in dialect; valuable and problematic record of tales and times.
We have 1 books by Joel Chandler Harris in the AliceAndBooks library