BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kimmel, Eric. 2009. ANANSI AND
THE MAGIC STICK. Ill. by Janet Stevens. New York: Holiday House. ISBN 0-8234-1443-4
PLOT
SUMMARY
Anansi the Spider is known for his laziness. In
fact, the other animals spend quite a bit of time teasing him, hoping he will
finish his chores. However, Anansi prefers sleeping his days away rather than
working to fix his house or clean his yard.
When his animal neighbors become too much, Anansi decides to take a
walk. He realizes that Hyena never does any work other, yet his house is
perfectly clean. And it’s then that
Anansi sees the magic stick complete the chores that Hyena should have been
doing. During Hyena’s nap, Anansi steals
the magic stick and decides to have it do his chores. Things get out of hand and suddenly Anansi’s
laziness has the entire village floating downstream in a river that was
mistakenly made. While things end up
happy in the end, the reader also learns that Anansi did not learn his lesson
and that he will continue his tricky ways.
CRITICAL
ANALYSIS
With
full page illustrations and small text boxes, this picture book’s main power is
with the illustrations. Bright colors
and humorous action scenes will have readers, young and old, giggling as a
result of Anansi’s blunders. It would be
easy for youngsters that are not quite reading to understand the story through
the illustrations. The text repeats
phrases throughout the book like, “working, working, working” and “quick, quick,
quick” which can certainly be an opportunity for listeners to participate in
the reading.
REVIEW EXCERPTS
SCHOOL
LIBRARY JOURNAL review: “Whether it is with the braying voice of Zebra,
the snorting of Warthog, the pride of Lion, the slyness of Hyena, or the tiny
timid voice of Anansi, Terheyden's narration makes the characters come alive.”
BOOKLIST:
“It's a long way from the original tale, but Kimmel tells it with
cheerful energy and Stevens' chaotic mixed-media illustrations, with lots of
bright pink and green, show Anansi's friends and neighbors--warthog, lion,
hyena, zebra, and, in one picture, Kimmel and Stevens--caught up in the mess.”
CONNECTIONS
The beautiful
illustrations and enjoy story make this a story that will certainly be returned
to time and time again. If the folktale
was enjoyed, there are many modernized folktales that can be read. Here are a
few:
Brett,
Jan. THE MITTEN. ISBN 0399231099
Polacco,
Patricia. THUNDER CAKE. ISBN 0698115813
Reinhard,
B.J. SANJI’S SEED. ISBN 0764222104
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