Anansi And The Bag Of Wisdom – Book Review

Anansi’s tale finds its roots in West African folklore, specifically among the Akan ethnic group of Ghana. These narratives are shared orally, passed down through generations as a cherished tradition. They often carry moral lessons and cultural values, particularly aimed at educating young children. There are several Anansi books that have been written by various authors.

Anansi, known for his cleverness and wisdom, possesses the ability to shape-shift, sometimes appearing as a human or various animals, despite originally being a spider. Within Akan belief systems, he serves as a mediator between humans and gods, facilitating communication between the divine and mortal realm .

Anansi has many different qualities in his stories. People know him for being very smart, tricky, and good at fooling others. These traits show up a lot in his adventures, where he faces problems and beats enemies by being clever and coming up with smart ideas.

Anansi and The Bag of Wisdom

Anansi, the ruler of spiders, receives a bag of wisdom directly from god. Though god instructs Anansi to distribute the wisdom among all creatures in the jungle, Anansi opts to keep it for himself. However, Anansi soon discovers that retaining all the wisdom is not an easy task. He then ends up accidentally giving a little wisdom to all animals in the jungle. And because of that, every animal atleast has a little knowledge just like Anansi.

Morale of the story

The book teaches young children the value of sharing with others. It highlights the idea that true wisdom lies in sharing knowledge with others.

Some of Anansi books include, “Anansi and the Tug of War”, “Anansi the Spider” and “Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock” There are several books about his interesting stories and in his various forms. It’s specifically great for young kids.