Anansi's Narrow Waist: A Tale from Ghana

by H. Arrington, Nicole Allin (Illustrator)

Overview

The greedy spider gets what's coming!

Long ago, all spiders were as round as the sun—and Anansi was the roundest of all. Anansi was very clever, but he was also very lazy, and he loved to eat. One day, hungry Anansi travels from village to village to eat with them. Each village asks Anansi to help make the food, but he would rather be lazy. Anansi leaves one end of a silken string from his web with each village, ties the other end around his waist, and asks the villagers to tug the string when the food is ready. He goes to another village, and another, and another . . . What will happen when all the food is done? This lively retelling of the Ghanaian folktale will delight all readers from ages 1 to 110.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781455622160
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	03/09/2017
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

A professional storyteller for more than 30 years, H. J. Arrington is best known for her spin on African folktales. She has worked as a teacher, professor, reading resource specialist, and educational consultant.

Illustrator Nicole Allin earned her degree in illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design and attended the Savannah College of Art and Design. She has worked as a graphic designer and illustrator.

Editorial Reviews

2016-06-22
Unbridled greed really puts the squeeze on the rotund trickster in this tale from Ghana. The telling is a lively one, the illustrations dismal failures. As Anansi goes "walking, walking, walking. Woo!" he catches the scent of yams cooking in one village, chicken and rice in another, beans in a third, and other feasts. "Oh—I'm gon eat good today. Yes. Oh—I'm gon to eat good." At each stop he ties a string around his waist and tells the villagers to pull when the food's ready. Unfortunately, when all the strings are pulled at once, not only is Anansi unable to move in any direction, his waist gets squeezed down to the thinness that all spiders still exhibit. Arrington sandwiches her tale between wordy explanations and doesn't offer a source note. But she uses repetition and cadence to lend her version a robust, distinctly oral character…and if the "Anansi Approved Recipes" for candied yams with marshmallows and for baked beans with barbecue sauce at the end aren't exactly West African in origin, they're still yummy. Allin, on the other hand, portrays Anansi with brown fur and anthropomorphic features, including a head and a neck. Moreover, perplexingly, all the villagers are cast as unclothed African animals living in stereotypical grass huts. A good choice for telling, a poor one for showing. (Picture book/folk tale. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews