Anansi's Narrow Waist

Anansi's Narrow Waist
Len Cabral, Illustrator:David Diax
GoodYear Books,1994
Pages:16
Reading level:4-8
Genre:Picture Book

One day Anansi the spider smelled some yams cooking and wanted some. The people invited him to wait a minute and have some yams when they were done, but Anansi didn't want to wait, so he had the people tie a string around his waist and told them to tug it when the yams were done. He kept walking and soon came to fried rice and beans. He had them tie a string around his waist too. He kept walking, and eventually he had eight strings around his waist. Then the yams people tugged their strings, then the fried rice and beans people, and all the rest of the strings too. The strings kept pulling tighter and tighter, and making his waist smaller and smaller, until they snapped. That is why a spider has eight legs and a tiny waist.

I would recommend this book to people who want to learn about the African culture.

Children might believe this story and hurt themselves pulling strings that are tied around their waist.

I liked this book because it teaches children to be patient.

Rating:***