Reading Diary A: Jamaica Anansi Stories

This week I selected the Jamaica Anansi Stories unit for my reading unit.  I decided to do a reading from the Africa section first in order to switch things around within the weeks.  My decision to read the Anansi Stories unit was based on a previous interest I had in this storybook at the beginning of the class during week one or two.  This story was of interest to me because in a previous week it had been highlighted and used as an example.  After I looked into it I decided that it was actually of interest to me and so now I am following up on my interest and taking a look at it for myself.

The part about this reading unit that I find so interest is the dialect that is being used.  It's not written in a grammatically correct sense by any means.  The story is written in order to reflect the accent of the speaker who would be telling the stories.  I think writing the story in the voice of the culture is a really interesting literary choice.  It gives the story more authenticity but also makes it somewhat harder to read.  Overall, I'm glad I chose this unit and I can't wait to finish part to of Anansi's tricks.

  

Anansi The Spider as a Children's Book
Artwork by: Gerald McDermott