Geoffrey Philp

This was a charming and well-written children's book, with great illustrations. It integrates a modern-day story about bullying in a Florida school with a traditional Anancy story from the Caribbean. Jimmy doesn't know how to deal with the new kid at school who steals his lunch, until he realises that the key lies in the story his Jamaican grandfather is always telling him about Anancy the spider, a trickster who manages to capture the more powerful Snake by fooling him and appealing to his ego.

I was familiar with the Anancy story already from reading West Indian Folk Tales by Philip Sherlock, but really liked the way it was combined with a contemporary story. It would make it more relevant to a child today, and may even spark a love of traditional folk tales. The writing is excellent, and though it deals with a serious subject it is entertaining and not at all preachy.

The illustrations in the book were really good even on my black-and-white Kindle, so I imagine they'd be great in the paper copy. I'd recommend this as a book that could be read aloud to very young children, or that older children could read by themselves and discover some important lessons about how to deal with bullies.… (more)