A Story a Story is a book written and illustrated by Gail E. Haley

Gail E. Haley

Gail E. Haley is an American author and illustrator. She was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. She married mathematician Joseph A. Haley in 1959. Her first book, My Kingdom for a Dragon was published in 1962...

 that retells the African tale of how, when there were no stories in the world for children to hear, the trickster Anansi

Anansi

Anansi the trickster is a spider, and is one of the most important characters of West African and Caribbean folklore.He is also known as Ananse, Kwaku Ananse, and Anancy; and in the Southern United States he has evolved into Aunt Nancy. He is a spider, but often acts and appears as a man...

 obtained them from the Sky God. The book was produced after Gail E. Haley spent a year in the Caribbean researching the African roots of many Caribbean tales. Released by Atheneum

Atheneum Books

Atheneum Books was a publishing house and adult publisher created by Alfred A. Knopf, Jr. in 1959. He recruited editor Jean E. Karl personally, to come and establish a Children's Book Department in 1961....

, it was the recipient of the Caldecott Medal

Caldecott Medal

The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children , a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published that year. The award was named in honor of nineteenth-century English...

 for illustration

Illustration

An illustration is a displayed visualization form presented as a drawing, painting, photograph or other work of art that is created to elucidate or dictate sensual information by providing a visual representation graphically.- Early history :The earliest forms of illustration were prehistoric...

 in 1971.

The book was animated by filmmaker Gene Deitch

Gene Deitch

Eugene Merril "Gene" Deitch is an American illustrator, animator and film director. He has been based in Prague, capital of Czechoslovakia and the present-day Czech Republic, since 1959. Since 1968, Deitch has been the leading animation director for the Connecticut organization Weston...

 for Weston Woods Studios

Weston Woods Studios

Weston Woods Studios is a production company that makes audio and short films based on well-known books for children. It was founded in 1953 by Morton Schindel in Weston, Connecticut, and named after the wooded area near his home. The company's first project was Andy and the Lion in 1954, and its...

 in 1971. The animation was carried out at Kratky Film Prague, with the narration by Dr John Akar and "African music recreated" by Dr Vaclav Kubica using African instruments loaned from the Náprstek Museum

Náprstek Museum

The Naprstek Museum is a museum of Asian, African and American art in the city of Prague. It is part of the Prague National Museum. It was founded by Vojta Náprstek .-External links:*...

Prague.