The best modern versions of these are by Julius Lester who says of the Trickster "in these tales created by slaves is the vital voice of our humanity."
Julius Lester's stories of B'rer Rabbit include:
The Tales of Uncle Remus;
More Tales of Uncle Remus,
Further Tales of Uncle Remus; and
The Last Tales of Uncle Remus.
Himself of African-American heritage and a skilled storyteller, Julius Lester has kept all the charm of the B'rer Rabbit tales and his versions are both delightful and contemporary, the books illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Lester has several other excellent volumes of stories from the Afro-American and African heritage including The Knee High Man, Black Folktales and John Henry.
Another outstanding writer of stories in the African American tradition is Virginia Hamilton. She has created her own trickster, Jahdu and her several books of stories about this little one always running have been collected in The All Jahdu Storybook, illustrated by another outstanding African American illustrator, Barry Moser. I have found these stories a rich resource for tales such as when Jahdu outwits the Giant named Trouble which will appeal to all children regardless of race. She recently published a volume of stories When Birds Could Talk & Bats Could Sing : The Adventures of Bruh Sparrow, Sis Wren and Their friends Eight fables gathered (and some, perhaps written) by Martha Young, a contemporary of Joel Chandler Harris - also illustrated beautifully by Barry Moser. She is also the author of the The People Could Fly : American Black Folktales. and numerous other books for children. A collection of work from African American storytellers is African-American Folktales. editted by Richard and Judy Dockery Young
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One of the best collections is Jack Tales by Richard Chase; his collection of other Appalachian stories: Grandfather Tales is also an excellent resource.
And here are some Jack tale links: Jack tales and Folklore
Appalachian Folktale Index
