Customer Reviews

Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My second graders loved it! Kimmel is an expert storyteller. His Anansi tale is humorous and utterly delightful! It also teaches children a valuable lesson, as do all tales of this type! This is definitely a book for which children of all ages will sit still.The illustrations are colorful and eyecatching. It adds the perfect touch to this wonderful little book. I can only hope that the author, Eric Kimmel, continues producing stories of such high quality.

Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock is a staple in my storytelling repetoire. Small children appreciate the repetition; older children appreciate the humor; adults enjoy the pure playfulness of the tale. In short, this is another example of folktales being excellent (or not surviving).

The book is well written and well illustrated - I hope it becomes a children's classic as it deserves to be

My kids (ages 8 and 5) think this book is hilarious -- I just now finished [re]reading it to my daughter, who made me repeat the schtick between Anansi and the little mule deer about six times in a row, ending up with us acting out the two parts. A little boisterous for bedtime, maybe, but we had a ball. The idea of a strange moss-covered rock that knocks out anyone who says "what a strange moss-covered rock!" is pretty surreal, but if you suspend your disbelief the rest of the tale, and its moral lesson, follow like clockwork.
The illustrations are well done, too. Some of the animals are a little too cartoony-cute, but Anansi has an intriguingly zig-zag shape, and it's a nice sight gag to see them using ceiling fans and aluminum lawn chairs. Also, if you flip back through the book you can find little mule deer peeking out from the background on nearly every page, which is a huge bonus as far as the kids are concerned.
A previous reviewer condemned this story as violent -- but it's not suggested or shown anywhere in the book that the rock hits the animals on the head. Instead it's just "KPOM!" and the animal falls in a faint. My kids and I hadn't even considered the being-hit-on-the-head theory at all: they just figured the rock was magic. Maybe they just haven't watched enough Bugs Bunny cartoons...

As a kid I learned how to read with Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock. I had my parents read it to me until I had memorized it, then I read it, associating the words I knew were there with what was there. It was hands down my favorite book as a child and I believe that the moral in it helped build a moral character into me. I never saw any violence in the story, just thought that when you said the magic words you fell asleep - magically. I am 21 now and still have a soft spot for the story, and will likely read it to my own children someday.

I find this book useful in teaching teachers about the folk lore of Africa. It also is useful in showing teachers an interesting way to introduce and discuss values with young children.

Good story with elements of mystery & magic...and when will Anansi get his? He does of course. My little one walked around slowly mimicking the sad lion when his goods were swiped...then, she'd burst out laughing. We had lots of fun with this.

This story is about a phrase that if said near a magical rock makes animals fall to the ground and then wake up shortly after. No one gets hit, they just have to say the phrase for the rock to make the faint. It is a great illustration of one of the many great tales from the Ashanti people about the mischevious Anansi. KIDS LOVE IT! I don't know how to explain it, but they think it is so, so funny. If you want to make your kids LOVE a book, get this one. And don't worry there is absolutely no violence.

I use to read this book to my class when I was teaching. Now I read it to my 2 year old daughter. She loves it. It's fun looking for the little bush deer. She loves it when the animals KPAO! Defintely a great read aloud. It's a 380L level.

THis is serious fun for reading aloud. GREAT pictures (hidden animal in each one too), great rollicking (sorry about spelling that) fun, and a nice message. FUN FUN FUN FUN. Great illustrations too!

So, the crux of this book is in the absurd premise that SOMEWHERE in the forest there is a strange-looking moss covered rock that knocks you unconscious for an hour if, upon seeing it, you go "Isn't this a strange, moss-covered rock?"

Of course, if you can accept the existence of talking spiders and various African animals that live in houses and sit on chairs, you can accept this too. And you should, because the story of how Anansi got outwitted, hoisted on his own petard? Well! That's worth dropping in a dead faint for an hour over!