For kids with big imaginations, a magical debut middle-grade graphic novel about a girl who doesn’t lie but no one believes, and who winds up tangled in the web of trickster spider of Ghanaian lore, Ananse.Everyone says that the wild stories Nana tells are big fibs. But she always tells the truth, as ridiculous as it sounds to hear about the troupe of circus squirrels stealing her teacher’s toupee. When another outlandish explanation lands her in hot water again, her parents announce that Nana will be spending the summer with her grandmother in Ghana. She isn’t happy to be missing the summer camp she’s looked forward to all year, or to be living with family that she barely knows, in a country where she can’t really speak the native language. But all her worries get a whole lot bigger—literally—when she comes face-to-face with Ananse, the trickster spider of legend. Nana soon discovers that the forest around the village is a place of magic watched over by Ananse. But a group of greedy contractors are draining the magic from the land, intent on selling the wishes for their own gain. Nana must join forces with her cousin Tiwaa, new friend Akwesi, and Ananse himself to save the magic from those who are out to steal it before the magic—and the forest—are gone for good.

Elizabeth Agyemang is an illustrator, printmaker, and storyteller. She writes about magic, history, folklore, love, and fairy tales, and draws from elements of her Ghanaian heritage and faith. Elizabeth graduated from Carnegie Mellon University where she studied Fine Arts and Professional Writing, and she now works in publishing. When she isn’t gushing over books or comics, she spends her time dissecting classic movies and playing video games. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @onceAddai and online at Elizabethagyemang.com.