Book Review: Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY: 

Kimmel, Eric A. 1988. ANANSI AND THE MOSS-COVERED ROCK. Ill. by Janet Stevens. New York: Holiday House. ISBN: 082340689

2. PLOT SUMMARY: 

Anansi is a tricky little spider that lives in the forest. One day when he is walking through the forest, he finds a moss covered rock. As soon as he sees the rock, he says “isn’t this a strange moss covered rock?” Right when he speaks these words he falls to the ground and doesn’t wake up for an hour. When he wakes, he says the same words again and passes out immediately. Once he wakes from his slumber, Anansi figures out that this a magical rock so he decides to play tricks on his fellow animal friends. He visits his friend the lion and asks him to go on a walk with him in the cool forest. When they arrive at the moss covered rock, Anansi points to the rock and forces the lion to say the magical words in which the lion passes out. When the lion is asleep, Anansi goes back to the lion's house and steals all of his yams.

As Anansi continues to trick his friends, one animal the Little Bush Deer sees it all and decides to play a trick on Anansi. When Anansi asks the deer to go on a walk, the deer obliges and goes with him. When Anansi tries to get the little deer to say the magical words, the deer reverses the trick and ends up getting Anansi to say the words instead. Once Anansi passes out, the Little Bush Deer finds all of his friends and helps them get their food back from Anansi’s house. Once Anansi wakes, he comes home to find his house empty with no food. 

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS: 

Kimmel has beautifully created a story that has a lesson for all to follow. The reader is able to learn the golden rule, do onto others as you would have them do onto you. In this tale, we learn about many characters but two of them have strong personality traits, the antagonist Anansi and the protagonist Little Bush Deer. Right from the start you can tell that Anansi is a trickster and is up to no good when he begins to play tricks on his own friends. The Little Bush Deer comes out as a "hero" in this story when he teaches Anansi a lesson. The repeated magical phrase “Isn’t this a strange moss-covered rock” and the sound “kpom” is sure to get reader quickly involved in this great read aloud. 

Stevens' illustrations are detailed and fun. The bright vivid colors used throughout the book greatly enhance the story as well and attract the reader's attention immediately. I loved how she used foreshadowing in her illustrations by showing the little deer hiding in the background of all of the pictures. This minor detail allows the reader to guess why the deer was including in the pictures, only to find out later what a big role the deer plays in the story.

  

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS: 

BULLETIN OF THE CENTER OF CHILDRENS BOOKS review: "This book combines Stevens' knack for drawing funny animals with Kimmel's sense of rhythmic storytelling. . . . Stevens has cleverly avoided cartooning the spider's face and opted instead for emphasizing his very expressive set of eight black legs. The stylized exaggeration of words and pictures is just wry enough to avoid cuteness and maintain the mischief of a true trickster tale."

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL review: “The text is rhythmic, nicely building suspense to the inevitable conclusion. Stevens' complementary, colorful illustrations add detail, humor, and movement to the text. Here, Anansi is portrayed as a large eight-legged arachnid; his expression is in his motion. The other animals are almost realistic, although with facial expressions that are characteristic of the artist's work. This new picture book Anansi tale will be welcomed by all trickster fans.”

5. CONNECTIONS: 

*Have students create their own fable, where the reader learns a lesson like Anansi did.

*There are great examples of foreshadowing and prediction opportunities to do with children. 

 *For more books by Eric Kimmel featuring Anansi ,check out: 

Kimmel, Eric A. ANANSI AND THE TALKING MELON. Ill. by Janet Stevens. ISBN: 9780823411672

Kimmel, Eric A. ANANSI GOES FISHING. Ill. by Janet Stevens. ISBN: 9780823410224

Kimmel, Eric A. ANANSI AND THE MAGIC STICK. Ill. by Janet Stevens. ISBN: 9780823417636

Kimmel, Eric A. ANANSI’S PARTY TIME. Ill. by Janet Stevens. ISBN: 9780823422418