Brewer, Kwasi Asare, and Holmes weave a vibrant folktale in which kente cloth prompts an exploration of artistry’s cultural value. In a “hip” metropolis, spider weavers craft kente, a “talking cloth” that “tells a wonderful story.” When the residents, including Chief Griot Anansi, begin to favor cheap machine-made fabric, the weavers abandon their looms, causing the once thriving city to lose its color and its verve. After relying on trickery to solve the crisis fails, Anansi, upon his wife’s suggestion, gathers the city together in song and celebration, publicly honoring the artisans whose work sustains the community’s spirit. Layered, lengthy verse emphasizes collaboration over cleverness, while illustrations rich with patterned textiles and silhouetted brown-skinned human and spider residents leverage the feel of intricate textiles. Steeped in Ghanaian culture and storytelling traditions, this is a thoughtful tribute to the enduring importance of honoring creative labor. Back matter includes creators’ notes.
—Publishers Weekly
Anansi, the trickster spider, continues to spin his web of stories in this original, contemporary folktale set in a vibrant African city known for its talented kente-cloth weavers. Using their hands and feet in a “fascinating fever,” the skilled artisans create intricate textiles bursting with stunning greens, golds, and reds. Each color and complex pattern in the “talking cloth” contains cultural significance and wisdom, “telling us the truth, telling us how to live; telling us to stay strong, and how to give.” Some citizens, including Chief Griot Anansi, eschew the handcrafted fabric and wear machine-made fast-fashion. A cheap imitation, “this mock kente cloth has no storytelling past.” Feeling disparaged, the weavers go on strike and the city’s light dims until Anansi, with the help of his wife, Aso, comes up with a plan to show sincere appreciation. Caldecott Honoree Holmes’ brilliant collage illustrations are alive with colors, patterns, and textures. An author’s endnote explains the legend and history of Anansi and kente cloth. This rhythmic read-aloud picture book weaves an authentic tale honoring community and craft.
—Booklist
One of Africa’s most iconic trickster igures, Anansi the spider, is here reimagined in a modern tale set in a Ghanaian city renowned for its master weavers. The residents use vibrant colors and bold shapes to create kente, the “talking cloth,” which tells stories of the world and how it came to be: “God’s mouth— / telling us the truth; / telling us how to live; / telling us to stay strong, / and how to give.” But over time, cheaper and quicker-to-produce machine-made clothes begin to replace kente. The manufactured clothing, with “no storytelling past,” is increasingly worn by consumers—including Anansi!—and the city’s weavers stop weaving. Fast fashion also takes its toll on the earth itself: the sun is losing its shine; music and rainbows are less vibrant. When Anansi’s first attempt fails at getting the weavers to return, he consults his wise wife, Aso. Can she produce a solution to bring true kente and its creators back to the city? Brewer’s rhyming text, supported by kente consultant Asare, brings lyricism and cultural specificity to this contemporary original fable celebrating human creativity. Holmes’s textured collages weave their own narrative, with anthropomorphic spiders collaborating with insects and humans in richly patterned spreads. Back matter includes an author’s note about Anansi and the history of kente cloth as well as an illustrator’s reflection.
—The Horn Book
