Have you ever heard of the tricky spider named Anansi? This West African god frequently takes the form of a spider, and holds the knowledge of all of the folktales and stories; he is cunning and tricky, and uses his cunning guile to try to get what he wants. It is thought that Anansi was originally found in stories from the Ashanti and then the Akan people in Ghana, and from there the stories spread through West Africa.
This post may contain affiliate links. Thank you for your support!
During the Atlantic slave trade, the stories crossed the ocean with the slaves through oral tradition. Especially in the Caribbean, Anansi’s cunning ways symbolized a resistance to powerful slave owners.
Anansi stories (and their variants: in the US he is known as “Aunt Nancy”) are considered “trickster” folktales because the small spider uses his intelligence and trickiness to triumph larger creatures. Stories such as these are told by elders to pass down knowledge and moral messages to the younger generations. Sometimes the stories were acted out by the storyteller, or even sung with dancing and drumming. In the 1950s people began collecting the famous stories and writing them down so that school children in Ghana could learn them.
Before reading, ask the kids what they know about spiders. Find Ghana on a map and trace the route the slave traders took to the Caribbean. When the kids are listening to the stories, ask them to pay attention to:
- the characters
- the setting
- the plot (events in the story)
- main idea
When the initial problem is presented, pause the story and ask the kids:
What do you think will happen next? What do you think Anansi will do?
Read Anansi Stories
Here are some wonderful Anansi stories for children, in order of the authors’ last names:
Anansi Does The Impossible!: An Ashanti Tale
The Pot of Wisdom: Ananse Stories
Ananse and the Lizard: A West African Tale
Anansi and The Box of Stories (On My Own Folklore)
In The Barefoot Book of Tropical Tales (Barefoot Collection)
Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti
African Tales (One World, One Planet)
Ananse’s Feast: An Ashanti Tale
There was one book (out of so many) that we didn’t love, but I will mention it here for people to make their own judgment. Anansi and the Magic Stick
Watch and Listen to Anansi Stories
Here is an Anansi story (of how he got manners from turtle):
This story is “Anansi and the Pot of Beans”
In this fabulous video, Denzel Washington tells an Anansi story that includes how slaves brought the stories from Ghana to Jamaica.
Lesson Plans with Anansi the Spider
PBS Kids has an interactive lesson about Anansi the Spider.
Why Anansi has Thin Legs is an excellent on-line interactive lesson from the British Council.
Finally, here are some great lesson plan ideas for grades 1-2 written by first grade teachers.
Do you have any other favorite Anansi stories we didn’t mention? Have you ever heard of trickster tales? What’s your favorite?
Love this list Becky! Sharing!!
This is a wonderful list! I am pinning to my books list board. We love Anansi stories, and they are also mentioned in The Story of the World that my daughter loves. There the story of Anansi and yams is shared where Anansi is always tempted by the better and better food and ends with nothing in the end. I thought it was a powerful story about being happy with what you have.
pragmaticmom I am so glad you liked it! It is part of a series on “Trickster Tales” that will be coming out soon. Do you have any reviews of trickster tales on your site? I would love to include them in the link-up!
sunnyvale422 I need to check out The Story of the World! This is the 2nd time someone mentioned it to me. I love the Anansi stories too:).
Does the Tortoise and the Hare count? There is a beautiful nearly wordless picture book by Jerry Pinkney that I love with a surprise ending … but it’s not tricksterish.
http://www.pragmaticmom.com/2013/11/picture-book-day/
Oh my big kids LOVE to Anansi stories but I don’t think my littlest has heard them yet… off to show him the videos. Thank you!
katepickle Yay for on-line videos! We are doing a series on Trickster Tales- check back next week for the big list:).
Love this! I am featuring it on the after school linky this week!
Great! Thanks. The people that are white in the book “The Magic Stick” because they are illustrations of the author and illustrator.