Ananse the spiderman is, like fellow tricksters Raven, Coyote, Jaguar, and Br’er Rabbit, always getting himself into extraordinary trouble. A lazybones and greedy-guts who is constantly making mischief, he’s also a clever fast-talker brazen enough to outsmart pythons. But when he tries to bamboozle Chameleon out of his farm’s produce or craft wings to fly like a bird, Ananse ends up with egg all over his face.

In the 10 stories brought together in this, the first Canadian collection of its kind, by Ghanaian-born storyteller and writer Adwoa Badoe (Crabs for Dinner, The Queen’s New Shoes), readers will discover not only some of the most familiar Ananse stories (“Ananse Becomes the Owner of Stories,”and “Ananse and the Pot of Wisdom”) but also wonderful new ones like “Ananse and the Singing Cloak” and “The Mat Confidences.” As Badoe lyrically notes in the storytelling incantation that begins the collection, “The story lives and becomes renewed when a storyteller mixes in new spices from his own store.” She has certainly infused these retellings with her own particular spicy storytelling voice. She’s added to a family tradition as well, drawing upon her own childhood in Ghana and her memories of hearing her grandmother’s Ananse stories.

Malian artist Baba Wagué Diakité has created fabulous illustrations – resembling colourful handmade glazed ceramic tiles, each framed by a striking black-and-white motif done in marker pen – which brilliantly conjure up Ananse’s world and are sure to entice young readers. Like Jan Andrews’ Out of the Everywhere and Celia Lottridge’s Ten Small Tales, The Pot of Wisdom is a welcome addition to Canadian folk-tale collections.