Who is Ananse?
Ananse is a folktale character from the stories of the Akan, peoples originating in the south of the former Gold Coast - an area we now call Ghana. Arguably the most famous and popular character in West African and Caribbean folklore, Ananse embodies the spirit and knowledge of all told tales. He is a trickster and a shape-shifter who commonly takes the form of a spider.
Spelling variants: Anansi, Anansy
Ananse Variants
Ananse's Feast by Call Number: JUV 398.2M72aISBN: 0395674026Publication Date: 1997-04-17Unwilling to share his feast, Ananse the spider tricks Akye the turtle so that he can eat all the food himself, but Akye finds a way to get even
Ananse and the Lizard by Call Number: JUV 398.2C9717aISBN: 0805064761Publication Date: 2002-10-01Ananse the spider thinks he will marry the daughter of the village chief, but instead he is outsmarted by Lizard
Anansi and the Magic Stick by Call Number: JUV 398.24K49amISBN: 0823414434Publication Date: 2001-01-01Anansi the Spider steals Hyena's magic stick so he won't have to do the chores, but when the stick's magic won't stop, he gets more than he bargained for
Anansi and the Talking Melon by Call Number: JUV 398.2K49anISBN: 0823411044Publication Date: 1994-03-01A clever spider tricks Elephant and some other animals into thinking the melon in which he is hiding can talk
Anansi Does the Impossible! by Call Number: JUV 398.2A113aISBN: 0689839332Publication Date: 2000-11-01Anansi and his wife outsmart the Sky God and win back the beloved folktales of their people
Anansi the Spider by Call Number: JUV 398.2M13a2ISBN: 080500310XPublication Date: 1972-05-15In trying to determine which of his six sons to reward for saving his life, Anansi the Spider is responsible for placing the moon in the sky
Anansi the Spider Man by Call Number: JUV 398.4S55aISBN: 9780690089059Publication Date: 1954-01-01Originating in West Africa, these Anansi stories were heard by the author when he was a child in Jamaica. Marcia Brown also lived in Jamaica, so her gay black & white line drawings capture the spirit of these tales.
Brother Anansi and the Cattle Ranch - El Hermano Anansi y el Rancho de Ganado by Call Number: JUV 398.2D44bISBN: 0892390441Publication Date: 1989-04-01A bilingual folk tale in which Brother Anansi persuades Brother Tiger to go into the cattle-raising business
Tiger Soup by Call Number: JUV 398.2T28tISBN: 9780531068595Publication Date: 1994-09-01After tricking Tiger into leaving the soup he has been cooking, Anansi the spider eats the soup himself and manages to put the blame on the monkeys
Ananse
image from Wikimedia Commons
Ananse Compendium
Spider-Man Anancy by Call Number: JUV 398.2B534sISBN: 0805012079Publication Date: 1989-10-01A collection of twenty tales recounting the antics of the West Indian trickster Anancy and his companions Bro Monkey, Bro Dog, and Bro Tiger