The trickster is tricked in this retelling of an Anansi story from the West African folk tradition. Seeing Turtle with a fish, Anansi the spider decides that he would like a fish as well. Unfortunately, he doesn't really like to work. When he suggests that Turtle teach him how to fish, he is not sincere, but thinks to make his chelonian counterpart do all the work. Little does he suspect that Turtle is wise to his ways, and plans to do just the same...

Anansi Goes Fishing is the third picture-book devoted to this arachnid trickster's doings that I have read from author/artist team Eric A. Kimmel and Janet Stevens, following upon their Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock and Anansi and the Talking Melon. Like those other titles, it combines an amusing tale of trickery, and of the trickster getting his comeuppance, with bright, colorful illustrations that accentuate the humor of the story. I have seen this particular tale before, in Verna Aardema and Bryna Waldman's Anansi Finds a Fool, although in that telling, the characters are represented as human, rather than animal. I enjoyed both retellings, truth be told, so the reader's selection will probably depend on which artistic style they prefer. Or they could do what I so, and try to read them all! ( )

I don't really like these books but teach good lessons. Plus, there is a historical background tied to Anansi as well, many of these Anansi tales started as orally told. ( )

As it turns out Anansi the Spider isn't the only one who is good at playing tricks, Turtle has his own brand of trickery hidden in his shell. Anansi is the victim in this classic retelling that, along with all the other Anansi stories, makes a wonderful read aloud for many ages. ( )

In my opinion, this is a great book. The illustrations are bright, and detailed, and enhance the story. For example, the author does not go into detail about the turtle's behavior in the text. The illustrations, however, show turtle relaxing in a beach chair with an umbrella, cooler, and radio. While including these details in the text would take away from the authenticity of the legend, including them in the illustrations make the story more humorous and relatable. Also, the characters are believable. Although the author uses animal characters, they possess very real and believable human characteristics. For example, Anansi is lazy and tries to trick his friends into doing work for him. This is a real human characteristic that I have observed many times. Therefore, the characters are believable. The main idea of the story is that people will not be rewarded for laziness. ( )

This is a very cute book. I feel that it teaches children that hard work has rewards, and that it's not kind to take advantage of others.