 |
| Image source: My collection Brer Rabbit Stories Illustrated by Rene Cloke ISBN 0 86163 057 2 © Award Publications Limited 1982 Spring House, Spring Place London NW5, England Reprinted 1982-83-84 Printed in Hungary |
This vintage picture book of four Brer Rabbit stories written and illustrated by Rene Cloke was published by Award Publications in 1982 as part of their Storytime Library series. For a list of the other books in the Storytime Library series (and links to my reviews), see Storytime Library Series.
For more information about context, background, and the full range of Brer Rabbit stories written and illustrated by Rene Cloke, along with my reviews of her other Brer Rabbit stories, see Rene Cloke's Brer Rabbit Stories.
This collection published by Award in 1982 was Cloke's first collection of Brer Rabbit stories. It is a large hardcover book of 33.5 by 23.5 cm, with a beautiful deep blue cover, with yellow and black writing. The front cover image relates to the first story in the collection, but that image isn't used to illustrate the story in the collection. The back cover is also blue, advertising the titles in the StoryTime Library series (only three at that point in time), and features an image in a circle that does appear in the illustrations for the first story in the book.
The front and back endpapers are the same, both showing images of Brer Rabbit and other characters from the stories, along with English woodland animals like red squirrels, a great tit, and harvest mice. The scenes include Brer Rabbit in the well bucket and in the briar patch, and several images of Brer Tortoise and Brer Fox.
On the other side of the front endpaper is a combined bookplate and copyright page, which contains an illustration of Brer Rabbit painting a book where children can write their name under "This book belongs to me". The title page shows an image of Brer Rabbit fishing, sharing this pastime with a frog and two squirrels.
There is no contents page, but the collection contains four stories, titled as:
- Brer Fox and Mrs Goose
- The Moon in the Pond
- Brer Rabbit and the Honey Pot
- Brer Wolf Breaks the Law
Brer Fox and Mrs Goose
I've identified this tale as a retelling of "Mr Fox and Miss Goose" from Chapter I of Joel Chandler Harris's Nights with Uncle Remus.
In Cloke's story, Brer Fox sees Mrs Goose "down by the water doing her washing one day" and decides "that nice fat goose would make me a very nice supper." Luckily, he speaks to himself aloud and Brer Rabbit, who happens to be nearby, overhears his plan to "creep into her house to-night when she is asleep and catch her."
"Brer Rabbit...was always ready to play tricks on Brer Fox" so he warns Mrs Goose and tells her to bundle her washing in her bed and roost on the rafters for the night. He also asks Brer Dog to help out.
Mrs Goose hides in the rafters and at midnight Brer Fox sneaks in and grabs the bundle of washing on the bed, thinking it "a fine fat goose". He's chased away by Brer Dog, dropping the washing as he goes, and "[a]ll the animals laughed and laughed to think that the fine and cunning Brer Fox had wanted to steal anything so silly as Mrs Goose's washing!"
The illustrations show Brer Rabbit wearing a red shirt, black trousers, brown shoes, and a white and black chequered scarf (working class), while the white-feathered Mrs Goose wears a bonnet (red with white flowers) and a blue kerchief with yellow and red patterns (possibly middle-class, and looking not unlike Beatrix Potter's Jemima Puddle-duck). Brer Fox is dressed in a blue coat, yellow pantaloons, a yellow waistcoat and yellow cravat (upper class). Brer Fox also carries a curving walking stick and at night wears a black cape with red lining, which complements his representation as the villain. Brer Dog, depicted as roughly red-furred (possibly an Irish Terrier) has no clothes.
The scenes take place "down by the water", likely a river, though possibly a pond, in a rural setting outside Mrs Goose's house, and inside it – where we see a plain wooden floor, walls, and rafter, the only furniture being a small wooden stool and a wooden bed with homely bedding.
The illustrations are full of character and energy, and make an otherwise fairly simple story quite memorable.
The Moon in the Pond
I've identified this tale as a retelling of "The Moon in the Millpond", from Chapter XIX of his Nights with Uncle Remus. (Harris also published a somewhat different version of the story in rhyming form as "Brer Rabbit Finds the Moon in the Mill-Pond" in his Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit.)
In Cloke's version of this story, all the animals decide to go fishing together "[o]ne evening when they were feeling friendly". Brer Rabbit plays a trick on them, saying the moon has fallen into the water and they won't catch any fish until they've removed it. He dashes home to fetch a net and, while he is gone, the other animals decide they'll take it from him, because they think the moon is made of gold and Brer Rabbit wants the gold all for himself.
Brer Fox, Brer Wolf, and Brer Bear spend the rest of the evening failing to scoop the moon out of the pond and getting thoroughly wet, while Brer Rabbit and his friend Brer Tortoise go to the other side of the pond to fish and get to head home with "a basket of fine fish."
In this story, Brer Rabbit is dressed in a mustard yellow sweater with red trousers and black galoshes. Brer Bear appears more working class in a blue sweater and black and white chequered trousers, while Brer Wolf and Brer Fox are both dressed as upper class, with cravats to accompany a vest and riding coat (Wolf) and hunting jacket (Fox). Brer Tortoise wears no clothes.
Cloke's watercolours are used to create an effective scene of gloomy night-time mist and watery reflections, in a green blue palette. The predatory animals look awkward3 trying to use the net to catch the moon, and comical as they fall into the water, particularly Brer Fox.
Brer Rabbit and the Honey Pot
I've identified this tale as a retelling of "Brer Rabbit's Astonishing Prank", from Chapter V of Joel Chandler Harris's Nights with Uncle Remus.
In Cloke's retelling, this tale has Brer Rabbit sneaking into Brer Bear's house when he knows he is out, to see if there's "something nice to eat there". He ferrets around through the place, eventually accidentally tipping a jar of sticky honey all over himself.
"Deary me!" he cried. "I like honey but not all over me!"
He tries to rub off the honey on the leaves in the wood but instead the leaves stick to him so that he looks like a "terrifying person". When he realises his new appearance is scaring the other animals of the forest, he decides to try to scare "his old enemy, Brer Fox".
"Gr–gr, I'm the Bogy Man!"
The trick works and although it takes him awhile to get clean, "how he laughed!" and every time he sees Brer Fox after that he shouts "Mind the Bogy Man doesn't get you!"
In this tale Brer Rabbit looks poorer (perhaps to excuse his obvious thievery) with a blue coat over a yellow shirt, red scarf, red and white shoes, and well-patched black trousers. Brer Bear is more upperclass, wearing a red jacket and using a walking stick. Brer Wolf and Brer Fox also appear as country gentlemen.
Brer Bear's house is a charming English country cottage, white-walled with window shutters and a thatched roof. His bread and cheese sits on a round table with a white tablecloth bordered in blue, and his cupboard is full of country crockery.
The forest scene is pleasing to the eye in an orange and brown palette of autumn leaves and red squirrels, and Brer Rabbit looks rather more cute than scary as he stomps down a grassy slope towards the fleeing Brer Wolf and Brer Fox.
Although he doesn't appear in the story, Brer Tortoise is also shown falling over backwards in fright, his red hat flying off his head.
There are some lovely linguistic choices in this retelling that make the story cheerfully English, from "Deary me!" to the rabbit's unscary "Gr" and the use of the English Bogyman to replace Harris's "Wull-er-de-Wust".
Brer Wolf Breaks the Law
I've identified this tale as a retelling of "Brer Wolf Still in Trouble", from Chapter XLVI of Joel Chander Harris's Nights with Uncle Remus. The basic elements of this story also appear in other folktales around the world, including "The Tiger and the Brahmin" (India) – see Ingratitude is the World's Reward (D. L. Ashliman).
In Cloke's tale, "Brer Rabbit was walking along one day... thinking as usual of what tricks he could play on Brer Fox and Brer Wolf" when he hears a voice crying for help. He finds Brer Wolf trapped under a great boulder. The wolf begs to be set free, and Brer Rabbit, "feeling rather sorry for the wolf although he didn't really like him", helps him out. Brer Wolf immediately catches Brer Rabbit for his dinner, but Brer Rabbit "thought quickly" and claims that it is breaking the law to kill anyone who rescues you.
He talks Brer Wolf into visiting Brer Tortoise, who he says is "expert on these matters". Brer Tortoise "looked very wise" but is Brer Rabbit's friend and so says he needs to see the scene where this took place, including seeing just how Brer Wolf was trapped. Thus the wily friends get the wolf back under the rock and leave him there.
In the illustrations for this tale, Brer Rabbit wears a pair of red dungarees with a yellow shirt, and a blue kerchief with red and white spots, and Brer Wolf looks less gentrified in a pair of blue trousers and a blue-grey checkered shirt. Brer Tortoise wears a red hat that looks like a farming or fishing hat.
The setting is a sunny English woodland, with bluebells and other flowers in pride of place. As Brer Tortoise uses a measuring stick to appear wise (and lever up the rock for Brer Wolf to get back under) one of the trees looks on with branch-hand to mouth, pondering – one of the few glimpses we get of Cloke's signature whimsy in this collection, as there are no fairies in evidence, although there are a few other trees with faces.
The palette is pale blue and pale green and full of spring sunlight and the illustrations align with Rene Cloke's simple retelling to create a lovely effect.
Conclusion
These simple retellings of the Brer Rabbit stories, rewritten and illustrated with an English flavour, are a lovely introduction to the folktales of Brer Rabbit. They are obviously much removed from the original publications and the oral tradition (which traces Brer Rabbit's lineage to African folklore and Native American trickster stories), but they have their own unique and appealing charm.
Comments
Post a Comment