Brer Anansi And the Boat Race (Folk Tales of the World S.) - Hardcover

Makhanlall, David P.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0216923557 ISBN 13: 9780216923553

Publisher: Puffin, 1992

Synopsis

Brer Anansi uses a boat race with Brer Rabbit and Brer Bear as an opportunity to perform his unusual mischief

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 2 During a three-day rain storm, Brer Bear and Brer Rabbit challenge Brer Anansi to a race, but their boat is so laden with supplies that Anansi's tub soon outdistances them. When they load their supplies onto a floating table in order to go faster, they are ripe for one of Anansi's tricks. This version of a trickster tale has been simplified to the point that little of the folktale flavor remains. The accompanying cartoon-like illustrations help to promote the idea that this is just another "cute" children's story rather than a folktale with a distinguished tradition. Makhanlall never cites the source of this particular tale, thus it is difficult to judge whether the inclusion of both Brer Rabbit and Anansi is authentic. Usually these are interchangeable trickster characters, often performing the same tricks, one in black American folklore, and the other in West Indian and West African folklore. This book is not a good way to introduce young children to the color and mood of traditional tales about those two famous tricksters, Brer Rabbit and Anansi the Spider. For comparison of style and language, look at such books as Gail Haley's A Story, A Story (Atheneum, 1970), Gerald McDermott's Anansi the Spider (Holt, 1972), and Julius Lester's versions of the Brer Rabbit tales (Dial, 1987, 1988). Constance A. Mellon, Department of Library & Information Studies, East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Puffin
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0216923557
• ISBN 13: 9780216923553
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32