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“'Spider stories' tell how small, defenseless men or animals outwit others and succeed against great odds. These stories crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the cruel ships that delivered enslaved people to the Americas. Their descendants still tell some of these stories today.“

On the first page, there is a note from the author explaining some conventions of the mythology and storytelling of the culture she references.

A “spider story“, or a tale of “success against great odds“ that originated in Africa. It is about Ananse bringing stories to earth. This book references Ghanian gods (like Nyame).

“ 'From this day and going on forever,' proclaimed the Sky God, 'my stories belong to Anase and shall be called 'spider stories.' ' “

I would recommend this book to children aged kindergarten to third grade. I think it does an amazing job retelling the story of the mythical character Ananzi bargains for these books to bring back to the children of Earth!

This story teaches about the upbringings of stories and could be taught to a class about the importance of stories

Traditional literature book that follows a man who told stories to children on how they to Earth from the sky. The author uses repetitive words and brightly colored illustrations.
This book can be used when talking about folktales from different cultures. There also can be a lesson on what the world would look like without stories.
My favorite quote is “Twe, twe, twe... It's raining, raining, raining.“

“This is my story which I have relates. If it be sweet, or if it not be sweet, takes some elsewhere, and let some come back to me.”

I like that the story is about African traditions.

Won the Caldecott medal. The bright colors of the illustrations will keep children captivated and it‘s a great read for a classroom to expose them to different cultures.

I really enjoyed how the story was told in the African tradition and how the beginning of the book explains that to you. Like how they repeat things and the context.

This is my story which I have related. If it be sweet, or if it be not sweet , take some elsewhere, and let some come back to me.

A story, a Story was written by Gail E. Haley and published in 1971. This is a wonderful fable like tale of how we got all of our stories we have today. The story makes you want to keep reading to see in Ananse can finish the tasks and how he does it. With the bright colors of the illustrations and the captivating story, I think it‘s definitely a great book to read in your classroom.

“And when he opened the box all the stories scattered to the corners of the world, including this one.”

This is a great children‘s book that inspires creativity in young students since this is a story of how we got all of our stories.

"This is my story which I have related. If it be sweet, or if it be not sweet, take some elsewhere, and let some come back to me."