Anansi and the Talking Melon

Author: Eric A. Kimmel Title: Anansi and the Talking Melon
Book Genre: Fantasy/Animal Publishing Info: Holiday House, 30,pp

Summary: Anansi, the trickster spider, drops into the elephants melon patch and picks a thorn to bore a hole in the best melon in the patch. Silly Anansi hears the elephant returning and is not able to get back out of the melon after becoming to round from eating too much so instead he decides to make the elephant believe that the melon is talking. With the elephant so amused, he begins to show all of his friends, and Anansi amuses himself by fooling the other animals. He is a real trickster!

Personal rating:****

Rationale: Good humor, well written, great illustration, fun, believable characters


Reading Level: 3.9 Interest Level: K-2nd

Thematic Areas: Animals, character and values, friends and friendships, humor

Content Areas: Science

Potential Problems or Difficulties: N/A

Possible uses in classroom: Use during a language arts/writing lesson. Give children an 8-1/2x11 piece of paper and fold into four parts. I will reread the story and stop at four spots in the story and have the students change that part of the story and have them illustrate it as well. Also use as an introductory story for a science lesson on spiders/insects. After reading the book, have the students make edible spiders. Give each student 8 Chinese noodles for the legs, 2 licorice strands for antennas, 2 mini M&M’s for the nose, and a large marshmallow for the body. Talk about the functions of the spiders body parts.