Anansi and the Sky God: book club questions by chapter

🦉 Anansi and the Sky God · meeting 1 of 2

Read: Part One, “The Golden Box”; Part Two, “Three Impossible Things” (pages 1–9, about 6 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 9, and don't read on: the next part is for next time.

1. Where did Nyame keep all the stories?
   The story's answer: In a golden box
2. How did Anansi get Onini to lie still?
   The story's answer: He said the snake might be shorter than a branch and offered to measure
3. Who have we met so far, and what does each of them want?
   Listen for: Make a list together on the board; keep it for next time and add to it.
4. The part we just read is called "Three Impossible Things". Why do you think it has that name?
   Listen for: Any answer that points to a moment in the part is a good one; ask for the page.
5. Stop here. What do you think will happen next? Write or draw one guess to check next time.
   Listen for: Keep the guesses in an envelope. Don't say whether a guess is right: the next part will.

🦉 Anansi and the Sky God · meeting 2 of 2

Read: Part Three, “The Price Is Paid” (pages 10–16, about 5 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 16, the end of the story.

1. Why did the hornets fly into the gourd?
   The story's answer: They were afraid of the rain
2. How did Osebo end up at Nyame's window?
   The story's answer: A bent young tree sprang him up into the sky
3. Why did Nyame call Anansi the cleverest creature?
   The story's answer: He caught three dangerous creatures with tricks, not strength
4. Look back at last time's guesses. Which came true, and what surprised you?
   Listen for: Read the guesses out. Nobody was wrong: a guess that missed often shows what the author wanted us to expect.
5. The part we just read is called "The Price Is Paid". Why do you think it has that name?
   Listen for: Any answer that points to a moment in the part is a good one; ask for the page.
6. Now that you know the ending, was it the ending you expected?
   Listen for: Ask what in the earlier parts pointed to it, or pointed the other way.

About the whole story

1. What does this story tell you about the place it comes from?
   Listen for: Food, weather, animals, how people live: anything the story shows.
2. Does it remind you of another story you know?
   Listen for: Many folk tales have cousins in other countries.
3. Who was the cleverest person in the story, and how did they show it?
   Listen for: Ask for the moment.
4. Who would you give this story to, and why them?
   Listen for: A reader who can name the right person has understood what the story is like.
5. If you could ask the person who first told this story one question, what would it be?
   Listen for: Collect the questions; some have answers on the story's page in the library.