Eric A Kimmel

Anansi the spider plans to trick Turtle into catching a fish for his dinner, but Turtle proves to be smarter and ends up with a free meal. Explains the origin of spider webs.

Trickster Anansi the spider finds a magical rock that causes any person who comments upon it to faint. One by one, he lures his friends over to the rock and, once they have all passed out, steals their food. But when Anansi tries to trick Little Bush Deer, he may have met his match. Watercolor illustrations accompany this retelling of an African folktale, which can also be traced to the Caribbean.

A clever spider tricks Elephant and some other animals into thinking the melon in which he is hiding can talk.

On the first night of Hanukkah, Old Bear wanders into Bubba Brayna's house and receives a delicious helping of potato latkes when she mistakes him for the rabbi. Includes a recipe for latkes.

A young girl brings her pets to the library--with predictably disastrous results.

During the Mexican Revolution, when a troop of hungry soldiers comes to a town where all the food has been hidden, they charm the townspeople into helping make a soup from water and a cactus thorn.

When an old lady swindles him out of his magic dreidels, Jacob tries to get them back in time for the family's Hanukkah celebration.

Omar wants a snake more than anything, but his mom is unenthusiastic to say the least. However, the family strikes a compromise: Omar can get a corn snake; but it must stay inside his room, where his mom will not have to set eyes on it. So when Arrow escapes, Omar has to keep it a secret. But with an inquisitive little sister and parents mindful of odd behavior, it's not easy.

A princess promises to marry the prince who finds the most precious treasure.

Villagers take in a flock of golden birds nearly frozen by an early snow and are rewarded with beautifully decorated eggs the next spring.