A Story A Story (Book)

Haley, G. (1970). A story, a story: An African tale. New York, NY: Antheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 0-689-20511-2

Interest Level: Ages 8 to 4
Genre: Picture Book
Subjects/Themes: Caldecott Winner; African Folk Tales; Trickster Tales;

Plot: This book introduces the origin of African "Spider Stories" where small or weak men or animals trick others in order to reach their goal.  This particular story tells about Ananse, the Spider man, who wanted to buy stories from Nyame, the Sky God.  Nyame told Ananse that he must bring him three creatures, a leopard, a hornet, and a fairy, in exchange for the box of stories.  These creatures were all stronger and faster then Ananse, who was an old man, but Ananse was able to outwit them all with his traps.  When Ananse was given the box of stories, he brought them to the people and opened the box so that everyone around the world was now able to keep stories.

Personal Thoughts: Written in 1970, this story is one that can still be used today.  This is a very nice tale about how anyone can win if they are clever enough.  Ananse tricks each of the creatures in a different manner which ends up having them trap themselves.  While the text runs a little long, it is easy to read and has a nice tempo to it.  The illustrations are done using woodcut stamps.  Younger children might simply like the story of an old man outwitting creatures or use as an example of African folk tales to introduce the concept to older children.  This story might be a good addition to a social studies unit, a multicultural themed storytime, or an African history unit. 

Awards/Recognition:
Caldecott Winner (1971)

Other Books by the Author: Dream Peddler (1993); Two bad boys: A very old Cherokee tale (1996); Kokopelli: Drum in Belly (2003)