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    A Story, A Story: An African Tale Retold
    A Story, A Story: An African Tale Retold
    A Story, A Story: An African Tale Retold
    Audiobook13 minutes

    A Story, A Story: An African Tale Retold

    Written by Gail Haley

    Narrated by Nyambi Nyambi

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    This Caldecott Medal winner from prolific children's book author and illustrator Gail E. Haley is steeped in colorful African and Caribbean language and folklore. It is the legendary tale of Kwaku Ananse-the spider man-and how he bargained with Nyame the Sky God to give his treasure of stories to the world.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateMay 4, 2012
    ISBN9781436188135
    A Story, A Story: An African Tale Retold

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    Reviews for A Story, A Story

    4/5

    86 ratings13 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Once, all the stories belonged to Nyame, the Sky God; he kept them in a golden box that sat next to his royal stool. Ananse, the Spider man, wanted to buy the Sky God’s stories. Spinning a web up to the sky, Ananse told the Sky God what he wanted.Nyame laughed. And then he told Ananse the price for the stories.Ananse was to bring Nyame three things: Osebo the leopard-of-the-terrible-teeth, Mmboro the hornet who-stings-like-fire, and Mmoatia the fairy whom-men-never-see.Will Anase be able to meet the Sky God’s price? And if he does, what will he do with the stories?=========This retelling of an African tale, winner of the Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children, is one of the many “spider stories” in the African tradition. These stories tell how defenseless men or animals outwit others and meet with success despite great odds.Sprinkled throughout the telling of the tale are several African words; young readers will be able to tell what they mean by their sounds. Nyame laughs: twe, twe, twe. Ananse ran: yiridi, yiridi, yiridi. All the assembled nobles shouted: Eeeee, Eeeee, Eeeee.The African practice of repeating words is also part of the telling of the tale; this repetition makes those words stronger.Young readers are sure to enjoy reading the story filled with Ananse’s exciting adventures; the message that anyone who perseveres has the opportunity to succeed is one that is especially important for young readers to hear. The story itself is clever and captivating; young readers will find much to appreciate here.Highly recommended.
    • 5/5
      The story of how Ananse, the Spider man went up to the sky to bargain with Nyame for the stories, and how he paid the seemingly impossible price the sky god wanted by being very, very clever. Haley’s adaptation of this West African and Caribbean story about the origin of all stories and her colorful woodcut illustrations earned her the 1971 Caldecott Medal for the “most distinguished American picture book for children” published in the previous year.
    • 4/5
      The subtitle of this Caldecott-winning picture book is: An African Tale Retold. When living in the Caribbean, Haley was intrigued by the folk tales featuring leopards and tigers, animals not indigenous to the region. She traced the origin of such stories to Africa, and further studied African folklore so she could capture the flavor of the languages, the people, and their customs. Haley explains in the introduction that many African stories, even if they are not about Kwaku Ananse (the “spider man”) are called “Spider Stories.” This book is about how that came to be. The illustrations are detailed, vibrantly colored and effective in supporting the story. You can practically hear the angry buzz of the hornets, or the quiet hum of conversation among the villagers as they watch Kwaku Ananse spin his web to the sky so he can visit the Sky God.
    • 4/5

      I can't believe I never read this, even when studying to be an elementary teacher. I tried to see if it's fallen out of favor because of subtle racism or something, but I couldn't find any - to my eye it fits in fine with works by Jerry Pinkney and |Leo And Diane Dillon, for example. I thought it was a great little 'how it came to be' tale. Could also be compared to Just So Stories.

      Reread July 4 2015 for GR Children's Books - Caldecott:


      I admit that I was a little confused at the beginning when the village storyteller is drawn exactly like Ananse. But I'm sure that's intentional. 

      The only bit I didn't like was the author's note speaking of "African" culture. As if Africa is inhabited by one people. I imagine there'd be less 'civil' war if that were true.... 

      "
    • 3/5
      What I liked about the story was the cleverness of Ananse. He was very tricky, but sometimes in a way where I felt bad for the tricked. I don't normally approve of hornets, but that seemed mean to pour water on their home and then close them up into a little bottle. Also, maybe because of my African History class, I don't like that it is just an African tale. What tribe or country does it originate from. African is a big continent and there are many cultures within it. I think I would need to study more on what specific culture this comes from before I could read it in a class. I did really enjoy the artwork. I think it helped out the story that the only thing in detail were the characters or items in the story. The bright colors let the reader know this was a book for fun.
    • 3/5
      Since I appreciate and enjoy storytelling, I like reading this African tale about how stories were spread. The wood cut illustrations went well with the story, I thought. I almost gave this 4 stars, but it's not quite there for me. 3.5 stars would hit just about right.
    • 5/5
      An African folktale with text and illustrations that work together to tell the story. The illustrations effectively show Ananse weakness as an old man that causes the Sky God to make a deal with him. Ananse strength came from his mind. This story is well told and is a great example of a folktale.
    • 3/5
      Caldecott Medal, 1971

      I really like the wood-cut illustrations in this one too. The story of how we got stories, and also a story about Ananse.
    • 4/5
      This is an African story about Ananse, the "spider man," and how "spider stories" began. One day the Spider man wanted to buy stories from Nyame, “the Sky God.” After weaving a web up to the sky, he asked Nyame for his stories, but Nyame would only give them to Ananse for a price; Osebo the leopard, Mmboro the hornet, and Mmoatia the fairy. After he left, Ananse made traps, tricked, and captured each the leopard, hornet, and fairy. After paying the price for Nyame's stories, Nyame gave the stories to Ananse, and said they belonged to him and would be called Spider stories.
    • 4/5
      A very interesting African tale with colorful pictures. Kids will love the images and the newness of some of the elements.
    • 5/5
      This story tells of the origin of spider stories. Ananse the spider man built a web to the sky and asked the Sky God for stories. Seeing that Ananse was old and feeble he agreed for a price. The Sky God asked for a leopard, hornets and a fairy. Using his mind Ananse is able to trick the creatures into captivity and carries them to the Sky God who in turn gives him the spider stories.The illustrations in this book are great. I like the stories morale.I would read this to a class along with the teaching that even a seemingly weak person can oversome their obsticles. This book would go along with a multi-cultural lesson as well.
    • 4/5
      A Story, a Story by Gail E. Haley is the beautifully told and illustrated story of the original tale of how African folktales became known as spider stories. The 'Spider man' Ananse spins a ladder up to the Sky God to ask for his box of stories, and is told he may have them if he first brings 3 special items. Ananse is happy to oblige the god, for until he succeeds there are no stories for man. I found this tale and the illustrations to be beautiful, a account of cultural history for all ages to share. Winner of the Caldecott Medal, this shall remain a classic tale of a classic tale for ages to come.
    • 3/5
      A story a story is written by Gail E. Haley. This story is about a man named Ananse who because of him we have sprider stories which are stories about someone who succeeds against all odds.I really like this book and the idea of spider stories. I think this book is a great story and gives a great tale of overcoming.I would read this book to my students because I think they would like the story and the pictures in it. I would have them write me a story or tale.