The Pot of Wisdom: Ananse stories [Paperback]

Adwoa Badoe (Author), Baba Wague Diakite (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up

Drawing on the rich vein of traditional African stories featuring the spider Ananse, Ghanaian author Adwoa Badoe and Malian illustrator Baba Wagué Diakité bring young readers a marvelously witty and entertaining collection of ten tales about this legendary spider swindler. The tales deal with important issues that everyone faces — justice, money, marriage, vanity, self-respect, and more — but couch the heavy lessons in lively folktales. Ananse sometimes succeeds; other times he makes a fool of himself and is ashamed — but never for long. Many elements of these stories can be found in other trickster tales, including those of African origin like the Uncle Remus stories and those of aboriginal American groups like the Native American coyote tales and the jaguar tales of Central and South America.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 2-5-Badoe relates 10 tales featuring the trickster Ananse. As usual, he is sometimes successful in his clever schemes, and at other times he meets with disaster. Whatever the outcome, he is always ready for more. Readers meet him as he becomes the owner of stories through his cleverness, as well as the thief who is stealing from his own three sons and climbs in a corner of his house to hide his shame. According to an author's note, Badoe's primary source for the material was her own recollections of the tales she heard as a child in Ghana. Her versions are both witty and have the ring of authenticity. Diakit‚ creates stunning, glazed earthenware tiles in rich, vibrant tones. One full-page reproduction of a tile is used to introduce each story and each one is a delightful enticement for delving into the narrative. This is an entertaining read from start to finish and a first purchase for most collections.

Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-8. Badoe remembers hearing these trickster stories in her youth in Ghana, and she retells them with the freshness and verve of the spoken word. In the 10 stories, which range in length from three to six pages, readers learn why Ananse the spider lives on the ceiling (he's hiding in shame) and how he came to be the owner of stories (he captures by trickery a hive of honeybees, a forest dwarf, and a python for the Great One). Ananse the wise judge makes one foolish choice for himself in "Ananse the Even-handed Judge" and another in the title story. Each tale is illustrated with a brilliantly colored polychrome tile by Diakite, the Mali-born illustrator. The tiles employ strong black linear motifs and sun-and-earth colors: gold, orange, brown, blue, lemon. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Groundwood Books (February 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0888998694
• ISBN-13: 978-0888998699
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 8 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #484,978 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Draws upon the African Ananse folktale tradition, January 3, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pot of Wisdom: Ananse Stories (Hardcover)

In The Pot Of Wisdom: Ananse Stories, Ghanaian author Adwoa Badoe draws upon the African Ananse folktale tradition to retell ten lively, witty, and entertaining stories about a trickster spider. Enhanced with the wonderfully illustrations of Malian artist Baba Wague Diakite, these Ananse folktales deal with issues of justice, money, food, marriage, vanity, and self-respect. Very highly recommended for young readers ages 7 and older, The Pot Of Wisdom will quickly become a favorite addition to any school or community library folklore/folktale collection!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Collection...Ananse!, June 12, 2008

By 

Arcturus70 "Arcturus70" (In the Orion Spur of the Milky Way Galaxy) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Pot of Wisdom: Ananse stories (Paperback)

This little book contains a fantastic, fun collection of Ananse stories that are as delightful as they are thought-provoking. The trickster tales are definitely worth sharing with any class that is studying African culture, folklore, storytelling, universal themes, etc. Black & White as well as color illustrations compliment the stories and add some unique cultural flavor.

Here's the list of included stories and my brief comment on each:

Why Ananse Lives On The Ceiling: This story reminds me of the Tar Baby tale! Ananse's sons try to outwit a thief and receive a surprise...guess who!

Ananse and the Feeding Pot: This is my favorite story. Greedy, jealous Ananse tries to grab some glory for himself after his son's successful adventure in acquiring food for the village.

Ananse Becomes the Owner of Stories: Ananse wants to be remembered and sung as one of the culture's great heroes. To do this, he sets out to possess all the best stories. (This story is very similar to "Anansi Does the Impossible: An Ashanti Tale" by Verna Aardema.)

Ananse, the Even-handed Judge: Ananse receives two invitations to two important life events. How can he fulfill both appointments? (This story is similar to "Anansi Goes to Lunch" by Bobby & Sherry Norfolk.)

Ananse, the Forgetful Guest: The wily spider must wriggle his way out of his own web of lies in order to save face and not offend his royal host.

The Mat Confidences: Ananse wins a prized wife through cleverness. Can he keep her when she learns the truth?

Ananse and the Pot of Wisdom: The Prideful spider learns a valuable lesson about bragging and self-importance.

Ananse and the Singing Cloak: Chameleon seeks to teach the greedy spider a lesson after Ananse lays designs on and captures his farm.

Why Pig Has A Short Snout: Ananse wriggles out of his debt to Pig.

Ananse and the Birds: The spider decides to learn to fly, but the surprised birds are so thrilled about him!

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Collection!, February 3, 2008

By 

Felting Mom (Monterey Peninsula, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Pot of Wisdom: Ananse stories (Paperback)

Of all the stories of Anansi, this collection is my favorite. The writing is excellent and engaging, the illustrations are beautiful and fun. I used this book as the basis of a series of stories that I told to a 2nd grade Waldorf class and they were absolutely taken with them. The fact that Amazon is offering this collection in hardback at such a great price makes this a definite MUST BUY!