...
Show More
I chose to read this book as I had heard its old tale previously. First, I did a book walk and was truly amazed by all the beautiful illustrations throughout the book. The vivid colors and the creative drawings of the animals and the forest are sure to capture children's attention. The other day, I sat down to read it with a few kindergarten students. However, as I was reading, I couldn't help but feel frustrated. The story is written in such a unique way that it was difficult for those students, and even for me, to follow along. I believe the vocabulary is more suitable for a fifth grade class, if that. There is an abundance of slang in this book, such as "brethren," "reckon," "fricasseed," and many more! It was not an easy read. The kindergarten students I was reading to seemed to enjoy the rising action of the story. When Brer Fox had enough of Brer Rabbit's sass and decided to trick him, this part had them asking me questions about sass. Even though it was hard for them to understand, they had a few laughs at what Brer Fox did with a tar baby. They also liked the climax, where Brer Rabbit was too smart for Brer Fox and tricked him into throwing him into the briar patch. However, the part of this tale that I didn't like was all the violence incorporated into it. Brer Rabbit tells Brer Fox that he can drown him, fling him, hang him, put him on fire, skin him, etc. I was cringing as I read that part to the kindergarten students. In fact, I found myself skipping some of the words. Overall, I don't envision using this book in my classroom anytime soon. If I had to use it, I would utilize it to teach my students all the difficult vocabulary in it and to have them look at the illustrations. This tale is a classic, but it is not appropriate for young children.
