Product Description

Winner of the Caldecott Medal

Once, all the stories in the world belonged to Nyame, the Sky God. He kept them in a box beside his throne. But Ananse, the Spider man, wanted them -- and caught three sly creatures to get them.

This story of how we got our own stories to tell is adapted from an African folktale.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #218967 in Books
• Published on: 1988-02-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 36 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The Caldecott Medal-winning African folktale of how Ananse took all the stories in the world from Nyame, the Sky God. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author
Gail E. Haley is a young but prolific author and illustrator. She has fourteen books to her credit, in addition to illustrating her husband's syndicated newspaper column, "Parents and Children." Miss Haley is the mother of two children -- Marguerite, age tow, and another born shortly after she completed this book.

The idea for this book came to Miss Haley as a result of living in the Caribbean. There she found stories in which tigers and leopards appeared. These, happily, are not part of the Caribbean fauna. And so she traced the origins of these stories back to their sources in Africa. She studied African folklore and culture in preparation for writing and illustrating this book, and to capture the flavor of the languages, the people, their customs and life styles.

The woodcuts that illustrate this book were cut and printed by Miss Haley in her own print shop. She lives and works in New York with her family, surrounded by a large collection of early children's books, toys and games, cut outs and dolls, going back to the seventeenth century.

Customer Reviews

Spider man, spider man. Does whatever a spider can.
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.

A wonderful introduction to fables
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.

An African tale of Anase's quest to get the world's stories.
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.