Independent Reading Level: Grades K-2

Lazing about while all of his neighbors work hard on their houses and in their gardens, Anansi the spider is annoyed when he becomes a laughing stock, and sets out on a walk. Happening upon Hyena's place, which is neat and tidy despite its owner's indolence, Anansi discovers that Hyena possesses a magic stick which does all of the work for him. Quickly making off with this wonderful object, our arachnid trickster puts it to work for him, but finds the magic getting out of control when he dozes off, and subsequently forgets how to end the enchantment...

As author Eric A. Kimmel notes in this brief author's note, the story here, adapted from the Liberian tale of The Magic Hoe, bears some resemblance to The Magician's Apprentice. It's the classic narrative of magic getting out of control, when used by somebody who doesn't have the training to master it. This telling is entertaining, and the accompanying artwork from Janet Stevens, who also worked on Kimmel's previous Anansi retellings (Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock, Anansi and the Talking Melon, and Anansi Goes Fishing), is humorous and appealing. I particularly liked the flood scene, in which both Kimmel and Stevens are depicted - the one with a pencil, the other with a paintbrush - as being swept along with all of the animals. Recommended to readers who enjoy Anansi stories, and to young folklore enthusiasts in general. ( )

This book is a fun read aloud for children. About a lazy spider who tries to use a magic stick to do his cleaning. This book has colorful illustrations. ( )

Anansi the spider is made fun of by all of his friends because his house and yard are always a mess. He grumbles away, trying to find somewhere else to go to take a nap, but he stumbles upon Hyena's house. He sees a magic stick that takes orders from Hyena, his secret to keeping his house perfect without any work. However, the magic stick ends up being more than Anansi can handle, eventually causing a big flood when Anansi tries to take a nap. Hyena finds the stick and tells it to stop, but a big lake is left. All the animals realize that the lake is there to stay, so they must enjoy it. Anansi even builds a houseboat and lives on the lake, floating around peacefully with no responsibilities.

I liked this story and loved the fun illustrations. It's kind of hard to determine the theme or moral, however. At first, I thought it was about consequences to laziness or shortcuts. However, since the spider is still lazy at the end, I am not sure what the moral of the story is. Either way, I think that it would be a fun story to share with students and give them a glimpse into a West African folktale. ( )

a small spider gets made fun of a lot and then he finds a magic stick and there is a flood, then he sleeps on a raft