Classic Tales of Brer Rabbit

Retold by Joel Chandler Harris

Illustrated by Don Daily

Publisher: Running Press Kids

Copyright Date: 2004

# of Pages: 56

Genre: Folktale

 

            This book has an exceptionally detailed book cover featuring Brer Rabbit acting like he’s asleep but peering out of one eye. I remember the old Disney Brer Rabbit movie, so I gave this book a shot. The book is broken up into seven stories about Brier Rabbit and other characters from that area. This book is strongly rooted in African American culture, and you could relate back to elements in this book in a discussion of history and culture. Brier Rabbit is a rabbit who is being pursued by other animals. He's tricky and finds ways to outsmart the other animals trying to trap him.

           The illustrations are very detailed with the use of oil painting and warm colors. Daily makes use of perspectives and has a lot of depth to the illustrations. You can look at the character’s faces and see a lot of human expression in the animals in the story. The feel is very organic and lively. This would be a great book to read during the fall because of the colors and subject matter in the book.

            If you were to use this in a classroom setting, you could use this story as a writing prompt about conflict and resolution. You could use this for character education. You could use this for cultural education.