Traditional Literature: Anansi

Book Review For:

ANANSI AND THE MOSS-COVERED ROCK. Retold by Eric A. Kimmel. New York: Holiday House, 1988. ISBN 9780823406890

            One by one, the spider, Anansi, tricks some African animals into going for a walk with him in the forest. He uses a special moss-covered rock to knock them magically unconscious and repeatedly steals their food. Throughout many of the illustrations where various African animals examine the rock, or lie flat on their back, or return to their homes to discover the theft of their food, Little Bush Deer is mostly hidden, but can be partially seen peeking out from the bushes and observing this trickery. Little Bush Deer decides to turn the tables on Anansi and do to him what he’s been doing to others. Anansi then wakes up to discover that all the food that he has taken has been stolen from him. However, and despite this experience, Anansi continues to dabble in trickery “to this very day”.

            This folktale, or beast tale, with its predictable pattern and satisfying ending, shows the reader that laziness, greediness, and stealing will get a person nowhere. The lines, textures, shading, and minute details of the illustrations make them stand out and appear realistic, which engages the reader visually. Because of these aspects of the book, I was not surprised when I read Karyn Peterson’s article on the School Library Journal webpage in which she interviews Melissa Zymboly Depper, a 2013 Library Journal Mover and Shaker. Melissa made a comment about this very book in her interview, saying she could read it “out loud every day for the rest of [her] life” (Peterson 2013). I personally could not agree more.

            I would suggest having children act out this delightful, repetitive story after reading it together. Even if younger children needed prompting with their lines, it would still be fun. Computer generated pictures of all the animal characters could even be printed out and turned into puppets by gluing them to popsicle sticks. Additional folktales with similar messages could be read and compared to this one as well.

References

 

Peterson, Karyn M. "Literacy Leader: Up Close with Melissa Zymboly Depper." School Library Journal. School Library Journal, last modified May 2, 2013, accessed September 20, 2013, http://www.slj.com/2013/05/librarians/early-literacy-leader-up-close-with-librarian-melissa-zymboly-depper/.