I received a copy of Anancy’s Family Reunion by Eva Greene Wilson (Soca Mom) from Granted Media for review purposes. No other compensation was received. Views expressed are always 100% my own.
I was so excited at the opportunity to review Anancy’s Family Reunion and read it to my children. One of the most important things to me is raising my children to love who they are and appreciate their heritage. I am a first generation American in my family, both my parents are Jamaican and raised me to be very aware of the culture. I didn’t have a choice, my parents didn’t change because they moved to the United States. They may have adapted certain things from their new environment but, never gave up who they are. I grew up in a West Indian milieu. Telling Anancy stories was an integral part of Jamaican culture growing up, and it is much more than a story it’s an allegory. My parents and grandparents raised me the way they were raised however, I was in the United States and spent many summers as a child in Jamaica being further enriched about who I am. I thank my parents and grandparents for instilling me with their values and mannerism because that is exactly how I am raising my children.
My children are knowledgeable about Anancy and reading this book gave us an opportunity to connect with each other, enjoy the tale and reflect on the lesson. Once you open Anancy’s Family Reunion you are introduced to Anancy and given some background on the Caribbean tales. I won’t give it all away but, Anacy’s Family Reunion is about a spider named Anancy who was banished from Jamaica due to all his conning and mischief. He relocates to Trinidad and Tobago and lives a quiet life as an honest spider. Anancy’s grandfather decides to look for him after many years to give him an inheritance and promises a reward of ten thousand dollars to the whomever can prove they are Anancy. There were so many impostors that tried to deceive the old spider. The punishment was one hundred dollars per lie. I even got to the point where I thought Anancy was playing his grandfather to con everyone out of their money. Okay, I told you I’m not telling you the entire tale so you’ll have to get your own copy!
I will say this… As you continue to read the tale you become so engaged in what’s going on. My five year old kept interrupting me to ask questions like… Why was Anancy banished from Jamaica?, What’s a trickster?, Why does Anancy’s grandfather want to see him before he dies?, Will seeing Anancy stop him from dying? I can go on but, I won’t! Eventually we finished the story! Ha! My teenagers were excited about the book and they enjoyed it just as much as their younger brother. It’s appropriate for all ages. This was a great story and I enjoyed the way it ended. You can visit the Anancy’s Family Reunion website for activity sheets and more information. If you’d like your own copy of the book whether digital download or print version you can visit Amazon. I’m excited that this is the first of a series and look forward to reading them all with my Fab 4!
