William R. Dutemple School Library: Trickster Tales

Anansi the Spider tricks all the animals, until he's taught a lesson.

Long ago, when the earth was set down and the sky was lifted up, all the folktales were owned by the Sky God. And Anansi, that cunning little spider, was determined to buy them back. The payment? A live python, one real fairy, and forty-seven stinging hornets. Not such a high price to pay for all the folktales on earth. But how will Anansi find these hard to come by items? It sounds impossible!

Clever coyote gets his comeuppance when he tries to steal.

After tricking some prairie dogs into becoming his dinner, Iktomi is himself outwitted by Coyote.

Of all the animals in the rain forest, Jabutí was the favorite. His shell was smooth and shiny, and the songs he played on his flute were sweet. But his music was a reminder, too, of the mischievous pranks Jabutí sometimes played. His song reminded Tapir of being tricked, Jaguar of being fooled, and time and again it reminded Vulture that he had no song at all. When a concert takes place in heaven, Vulture offers to fly Jabutí there . . . all the while plotting a trick of his own.

The mischievous parrot Papagayo spends his days playing in the jungle and disturbing the sleeping night creatures with his raucous cries. But when the ferocious moon-dog begins to devour the moon, only Papagayo knows how to save it.

Raven, the trickster, wants to give people the gift of light. But can he find out where Sky Chief keeps it? And if he does, will he be able to escape without being discovered? His dream seems impossible, but if anyone can find a way to bring light to the world, wise and clever Raven can!

Zomo the rabbit, a trickster from West Africa, wants wisdom. But he must accomplish three apparently impossible tasks before Sky God will give him what he wants. Is he clever enough to do as Sky God asks?