Customer Reviews

A Story, a Story

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My husband grew up in Atlanta, Georgia and well remembers the Anase stories that were told to him and his companions in their youth. For myself, Anase was not a character I heard much about as a child. This is a pity when you consider that books like, "A Story A Story" were striving to teach children about the great African (I apologize for not knowing the exact region) folktales. Based on one of many spider stories, "A Story A Story" is a variation on the Prometheus tale. In this case, however, the desired gift of the gods isn't fire but that of stories themselves.

As the tale tells us, long ago all the stories in the world belonged to the Sky God. On behalf of mankind, Anase (presented here not as a spider but as a kind of old spider man) spins a web into the sky and requests the Sky God's stories. The big man upstairs is amused by the request and presents Anase with a series of three near impossible tasks. If the spider man is able to accomplish them, he will be granted the stories. Using his wits and some clever techniques, Anase accomplishes each trial and in the end the world receives a golden box of the Sky God's stories.

Just looking at this tale I realized that it was a perfect companion picture book to Marcia Brown's "Once a Mouse". In both cases woodcut illustrations decorate a well-known fable from a land other than America. In this particular book, children at all familiar with the Brer Rabbit tarbaby story will instantly recognize elements of it in "A Story A Story". Adults could then let their kids know that slaves from Africa would often bring their stories with them, changing them in their new land with some subtle variations. The book itself is illustrated beautifully with what looks to be a series of brightly colored woodcuts. Be sure to locate other fine Anase stories (they exist in abundance, doncha know) if this one suits your fancy. It reflects beautifully the cleverness and richness of a story not too new to our American ears.

My daughter was not particularly interested in hearing a story the first time we opened this book, but within a few pages, the magic of the story, and the wonderful cadence of the words, captured her attention. She was spell bound to the end. The story was an opportunity to talk to her about another culture, teach her about the concepts of fables and oral traditions, and to just plainly entertain her.

A Story A Story contains perhaps the most beautiful art in any children's book ever. But it's more than vibrant colorful pictures. This African folk tale captures the imagination of children of all ages. Anase the spider man uses his brains and wits to complete difficult tasks in order to release all of the world's stories, held by a powerful god. The story is timeless is exciting.

This book has been a lifelong inspiration to me as a writer and as a language theorist! There is a subtle complexity in the story which is not immedately obvious. If you think about language or how humans tell stories , you should read this book, If you like stories, you should read this book

I think that I enjoy this story more than my children.
Great for children at least age 4 and up.
Too lengthy for a toddler.
But this a great story for family time especially if you can memorize it and tell it to the children...

I think that this book tells a fun story. My students will enjoy it. I do think that there are better Ananse books out on the market now. This is nice because it was one of the first and a classic.

One of the best ways that students can be exposed to other cultures is through the reading of fables and myths. Each culture has a different approach to the origin of the universe and different beliefs concerning how the universe is managed. Yet, as can be often seen, many of the fables are similar across cultures and that is evident in this story. In the African culture, the repeating of words and phrases is how they are emphasized, for example "so small, so small, so small" means very, very small. "A story a story" means an important story.
In the beginning, there were no stories on Earth as Nyame the Sky God kept all of them in his palace. Ananse, the Spider man wanted to buy them, so he wove a web all the way up to the sky. When Ananse went before Nyame, he was told that the purchase price was Osebo, the leopard-of-terrible-teeth, Mmboro the hornet who-stings-like-fire and Mmoatia, the fairy whom-men-never-see. In a manner reminiscent of some of the adventure of the Greek heroes and some classic fable antics of the trickster with a little Tar Baby thrown in, Ananse is able to capture all three and deliver them to Nyame. The Sky God keeps his end of the bargain and when Ananse returned to Earth he opened the box and the stories were scattered all over the Earth.
When reading this book, it is easy to see why it was a winner of the Caldecott medal. It is lively, requires a bit of thought and explains the origins of the stories that adults tell their children.

A Story, a Story (Story a Story Lib)

In this "Caldecott Medal" winning children's book, Anase the trickster spider, is at it again. This time he wants to take all of the stories away from, Nyame, the Sky God. Read and learn how Anase faces a leopard, a hornet and an invisible fairy to try a capture the golden box of stories. In this lively and colorfully illustrated version of the Anase tale, Anase, takes on the form of a spider-man. There are many other versions of the same African folktale where Anase is a real spider. How many Anase stories have you read?

A long time ago before there were books to read, there were stories to hear. And before there were stories to hear, there was nothing to tell at all. Then it was that something unusual happened to break that long, dead silence.

[Picture book suitable for the primary through intermediate grades.]

The Creative Teacher: Activities for Language Arts (Grades 4 through 8 and Up)

A Story, A story, is an african tale retold by Gail Haley. She also happens to be the illustrator, and the winner of a Cladecott medal.
This is the story of Anase,the spider man. He's the spider man because he spins a web up to heaven to ask the Sky God for his stories so he can share with the world. Hence, why stories are called spider stories. When Anase fulfills the God's order he is given the box of stories, and they get scattered all over Earth to share.
The story of Anase itself is a great tale of an old man capturing unlikely gifts for the God, to receive the box of stories. But the idea that the Earth has stories because the box openend and stories scattered everywhere is simple, yet imaginative. This is a great story for kids who like tales. If you like the book "Why mosquitos buzz in people's ears" then you would like this story. It's got great illustrations, and is a wonderful folk tale.