3 h 11 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 3 h 11 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a small creature has more wit than a powerful rival?
In West African Folk-Tales, animals speak, spirits intervene, and cleverness can turn the tables. Anansi the spider and Tortoise the trickster share this world with rulers and ordinary villagers. Compiled by W. H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair, these stories draw on the oral traditions of West African peoples, where tales pass from one generation of storytellers to the next.
The collection brings together animal tales, trickster stories, and lessons told through choices and consequences. Greed, jealousy, laziness, and kindness all have their place. A small creature may outwit a larger one, while mischief raises questions about fairness. Rhythm, repetition, and sudden turns invite you to slow down and read aloud, letting the humor and the warning reach you together.
What you’ll discover
- Tricksters at work Meet Anansi and Tortoise, whose clever antics bring wit and mischief into the tales.
- Animals with human failings Find greed, cunning, and familiar weaknesses reflected in creatures that talk and scheme.
- Choices carry consequences Explore lessons about honesty, humility, and respect through what characters do and what follows.
- Stories shaped for the ear Enjoy rhythm, repetition, and sudden turns that reward reading slowly and aloud.
- A shared storytelling heritage Encounter tales passed through generations at firesides and village gatherings across West Africa.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy trickster stories, animal fables and tales of how the world took shape will love this collection. It also suits anyone who reads aloud to children or friends.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Anansi buys the right to every story
- Anansi's greed turns against his own family
- Kweku Tsin is the clever son
- Strangers, riddles and bargains test the heroes
- Greed, trust and false claims bring ruin
- Kindness, secrets and promises carry real weight
- Just-so tales explain the world around the village
- The tales live in the voice of the village evening
Who’s who
- AnansiThe spider, wise, vain and greedy, who wants every story to carry his name and cannot stop playing tricks.
- Kweku TsinAnansi's clever son, honest and quick, who often outwits his father and helps the hungry.
- NyankuponThe chief of the gods, or Lord of the Sky, who sets Anansi three tasks before granting his wish.
- OhiaA poor man who tries to make palm wine, wins the power to understand animals, and must keep it secret.
- AdzanumeeA girl who was once a yam and is brought home by a mother who longs for a daughter.
- Quarcoo Bah-boniA tiny, mischievous boy who speaks in his first week and troubles five animals living together.
- ChameleonThe animal who wins a race to be king of the animals by holding on to Hare's tail.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
West African Folk-Tales
by W. H. Barker; Cecilia Sinclair (compiler) · 1917
A greedy spider wants every story in the Gold Coast to carry his name, and he is clever enough to win it.
Medium level2–5 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
Who can trick a swarm of bees, a boa constrictor and a tiger into being delivered to the sky god? A spider named Anansi, who wants every story told in the Gold Coast to carry his name.
West African Folk-Tales at a glance
- Reading time
- About 1 h 45 min1 h 25 min fast, 2 h 5 min slow
- Length
- 25,400 words36 chapters
- Pages
- 78 pages118 in large print
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1917by W. H. Barker; Cecilia Sinclair (compiler)
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Anansi buys the right to every story
The collection opens with a bargain. Long ago, every story people shared concerned Nyankupon, who ruled over the other gods. Spider, who is very conceited, asks that the stories be called Anansi stories instead. The god agrees on one condition. Spider must bring him a jar of live bees, a boa constrictor and a tiger.
He talks to himself loudly, so that the victim comes up and asks what is wrong. He pretends to argue about whether the bees can fit in a jar and whether the snake is as long as a stick. For the tiger, he sews one of his own eyes shut and sings of the wonderful sights he now sees, until the tiger asks for the same treatment. Nyankupon is amazed and gives Spider his wish.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Also in the Fairy Tales Book Set: Six Collections
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1917
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Barker, W. H. West African Folk-Tales. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/west-african-folk-tales.
Barker, W. H. (2026). West African folk-tales. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/west-african-folk-tales (Original work published 1917)
Barker, W. H. West African Folk-Tales. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/west-african-folk-tales.
@book{barker2026west,
author = {Barker, W. H.},
title = {West African Folk-Tales},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/west-african-folk-tales},
note = {First published 1917}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about West African Folk-Tales
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is West African Folk-Tales about?
It is a collection of folk tales from the Gold Coast, handed down by storytellers. Many feature Anansi the spider, sometimes with his son, while others explain animal habits or follow hunters, kings and farmers through tests of wit and honesty.
Who is Anansi in West African folk tales?
Anansi is the spider, a trickster who is wise, cunning and greedy. He usually appears with his son Kweku Tsin. In this collection he wins the right to name the tales, then gets caught by his own schemes.
Who was Nyankupon?
Nyankupon is the chief of the gods in these tales, whose name means Lord of the Sky. Barker's introduction says the Tshi-speaking people added him after contact with Europeans, borrowing the Christian deity and giving him a new name.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
