Anansi and the Talking Melon

LOVE this story, funny too. Isn't the title intriguing? Eric Kimmel's Anansi tales are the best! We've enjoyed this one so much. Great illustrations. Eric, keep writing.

That Anansi is such a scoundral!!After boring into one of Elephants melons, he eats himself too big to get out!! So, Anansi waits to get thing again...Only, he's bored! So he decides to amuse himself at Elephant's expense... and Hippo's...and Warthog's...Well, you get the idea.This is a cute story about a trickster spider. Janet Stevens' illustrations are, as always, excellent. Anansi is not just a regular spider. Stevens gives him expressions and a personality. You wind up laughing with Anansi's pranks. Very well done!I would definitly recommend this book. I read it to a group of young school age kids - 5-9. They could kinda tell where the story was going, but were more than willing to sit for the ride.

My 5 year old son LOVED the mischief Anansi got into and understood the lessons that were being taught. It is written in a way that younger kids can understand and the illustrations are great!

Anansi the spider bores his way into one of Elephant's melons and thus begins the great trickery of some of the greatest animals in the Animal Kingdom. I used this book with the second grade class and we loved the human characteristics of the animals and all the funny things Anansi says while he is in the melon. It is a great book to act out in the puppet theater and we had great fun taking on the roles of the elephant, monkey, spider and other surprised and astonished animals.