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Although I knew this book would be extremely heavy in its dialect, I just had to buy the thing; and I don't regret doing so in the least. The constant misspellings and poor use of grammar add a lot more authenticity to the story than a modern English version ever could in my opinion. Shakespeare isn't updated. Why should Harris be?

The stories themselves are what you'd expect. Brer Rabbit (and occassionally Brer Tarrypin) play tricks on "de udder creetures," either for a good laugh or to escape being eaten. Most of the stories rely heavily on the unsurpassed gullibility of the creatures they encounter. Brer Rabbit might as well say, "Hey, look over there," in half the stories to make his escape - the creatures are so gullible.

In one story, Brer Rabbit offers Brer Fox a B.S. explanation of how carts with big wheels on one end and small wheels on the other squeeze together when they ride along, and drop money on the road. Of course Brer Fox buys it, and follows said carts around hoping to make a quick buck.

In another story, Brer Fox pretends to be dead, hoping to catch Brer Rabbit for his supper. Brer Rabbit says he doesn't think Brer Fox is dead, because Brer Fox isn't shouting "Wahoo!" like other dead folks do. Of course, Brer Fox says "Wahoo!" to avoid suspicion and Brer Rabbit is smart enough to run away.

This book reminds me of an ancient Tom and Jerry cartoon series. Brer Fox gets hurt in all kinds of ways because of Brer Rabbit and it's funny. He gets stung by bees and wasps, laughed at by girls, attacked by a wildcat, thrown around by a horse, trapped in a box, and beaten by his wife. Also, in one of my favorite stories, Brer Rabbit dresses him up in a saddle and rides him around like a mule.

I know this book is controversial, but it didn't seem all that racist to me. I did see the 'n' word, but I could count the number of times it appears in the text on one hand. Perhaps the dialect itself is racist, but didn't poor white guys in this time period speak in the same way? I'm not sure.

You know, I can't figure out how the Tar Baby story became so popular. I guess it may be because it's one of the very few stories where Brer Rabbit is actually fooled. However I must admit that there were quite a few stories in this collection I enjoyed far more than the Tar Baby one. "All the Grapes in the Neighborhood" is probably my favorite.

Towards the end of the collection, the characters start getting killed off. They're not killed off in any consistent way though, because Brer Fox is actually killed twice. Brer Possum gets burned in a fire, and Brer Wolf is scorched to death after being locked in a chest. The last three stories are EXCEEDINGLY dark, with Brer Rabbit laughing at multiple creature beheadings. Although he causes all kinds of mischief throughout the book, he's absolutely impish in the last three chapters. "Bookay," the third to last one, is probably the very strangest of them all. A cow lets Brer Fox and Brer Rabbit walk inside of its mouth to cut meat, and after being warned not to touch the haslett, Brer Rabbit hacks it anyway, killing the cow. Whether he does this on purpose or not is unclear, but after Brer Fox dies in the cow's guts, Brer Rabbit actually takes Brer Fox's head and gives it to the fox's wife to cook for dinner. Absolutely Bizarre. Talk about little known Brer Rabbit facts.

I loved this collection from start to finish. By the fourth story, I knew I'd finish the whole thing. There are sixty stories in all, some of which look very much alike. Yet I can't imagine getting bored reading this book. Highly recommended.

It appeaars that this book, Joel Chandler Harris's Uncle Remus, is the first transcription of black culture's folk tales about Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Fox et al into mainstream culture in a book. Harris found ways to spell the words such that when you read -- you find yourself speaking/telling the story with that old time Black/African American dialect. This adds tremendously to the delight and richness of the stories. The dialect is key to bringing out the humor and wisdom in the stories and and creating the characters. And it is delightful. And the drawings too - - they're just perfect; they too represent the characters better than larger more elaborate storybook art.
I first heard these stories as a child when my dad read to me. I wanted the book to read to my grandchildren but kept finding these modernized, abstract, generalized Uncle Remus books that had none of the dialect, little of the dialogue - sappy, limp and lifeless. I was sooo glad when I finally figured out that Joel Chandler Harris's Uncle Remus was the one I wanted - - and that it was still in print!! By the way, my grandkids LOVE it - - precisely because of the dialect, the humor and the wisdom that comes through in it. Even though they're just 5 and 7 years old -- they "get" it !-)

I know there are huge numbers of people out there who consider Uncle Remus to be some kind of racist tract... but I couldn't disagree more. This is a piece of American history, and a time in American life when things were what they were. You are not going to make our history of slavery go away just because you wish it to be gone... it was, and it's always going to be there. But if there was a human side to it, ever, the Uncle Remus stories might be the best representation of that. A gentle, humorous collection of stories that any child, in any country, in any time, would be enthralled by. And the dialect only adds to the humanity of the stories, as told by an old, gentle and very wise man. I hope these books, in their original form, will remain an important part of the American legacy.

It is for native English people, if you have ESL, so you should look a adapted book with normal written english.

I read two Uncle Remus stories to a fifth grade classroom as part of community reading day.I am a retired teacher and always read as many kinds of stories to my class as I could.Reading about Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox using the Gullah voice always charmed and enticed my class. These are wonderful tales that we associate with the African tradition but after some research I learned that they are actually Cherokee and Cree stories that must have been shared with slaves as they both have strong oral traditions of storytelling.I gifted the book to the class in the hope that some will come to love and appreciate these stories enough to read them to their children.

This book was exactly as described and came very quickly.
Our family loves Uncle Remus stories.

What is there to say about Uncle Remus, Br'er Fox, Br'er Bear, and Br'er Rabbit except What's dat rabbit gwine ter do next?" Creative, entertaining stories written in the dialect of the 1860s will keep you reading and laughing from start to finish.

I enjoyed this book when I was a child. I purchased it to pass the joy of these rich stories on to my grandchildren. In re-reading the stories I tried to understand the current prediliction to classify them as racially insensitive. As a child my thoughts about uncle Remus were positive. He felt like a comfortable relative with a country accent and point of view. This is the image I will pass on to my grandchildren.