"The expressive male narrator charms the listener by impersonating the characters...Short segments of music and brief sound effects add interest...useful for all reading and listening situations." - Booklist

Wonderful Tales Series is a collection of eight stories specially written for young readers as well as reluctant readers of all ages. The stories are written in simple sentence structures to enable readers to enjoy the stories. The stories teach readers the moral values of moderation, kindness, friendship and diligence.

In a companion book to Anansi and the Talking Melon, Anansi the Spider steals Hyena's magic stick so he won't have to do the chores, but when the stick's magic won't stop, he gets more than he bargained for.

"....Jerry Terheyden's narration alternates between the slow pace of a turtle and the bounce of an exuberant spider.... Balloons filing with air and underwater bubbles are among the fitting sound effects." -AudioFile Magazine

As multicultural education is becoming integral to the core curriculum, teachers often implement this aspect into their courses through literature. However, standards and criteria to teach and promote active discussion about this literature are sparse. Cultural Journeys introduces pre-service and experienced teachers to the use of literature to promote active discussions that lead students to think about racial diversity. More than just an annotated list of books for children, Pamela S. Gates and Dianne L. Hall Mark provide systematic guidelines that teachers can use throughout their careers to evaluate multicultural literature for students in grades K-8. At the same time, the text leads the reader to a deeper understanding of how to use multicultural literature throughout the entire curriculum and not just during specially designated months or time periods. With the example unit plans and extensive annotated bibliography, this book is a valuable resource that pre-service teachers will utilize when they begin teaching and in-service teachers will reference repeatedly during their planning periods.

Anansi the Spider's plan to trick his friend Turtle into doing all the work while he teaches Anansi to catch fish somehow gets turned around. While Anansi doesn't learn his lesson, he does learn the invaluable skill of weaving.