The Spider. (Disgusting Critters). Elise Gravel. Toronto, ON: Tundra, 2015. 32 pp., hardcover & ebook, $12.99 (hc.). ISBN 978-1-770-49664-4 (hc.), ISBN 978-1-770-49666-8 (ebook). Subject Heading: Spiders-Juvenile literature. Grades 1-3 / Ages 6-9. Review by Claire Perrin. **** /4

excerpt:

In many spider species, the female is bigger than the male. It makes dancing a little awkward.

After some spiders mate, the female spider will eat the male. Gulp! I love romantic dinners!

What can be found everywhere on Earth, has for pairs of eyes and can lasso its prey with homemade silk? The amazingly clever spider!critters include The Fly, The Slug, The Worm and The Rat, among others. Gravel uses humour to present interesting facts about these critters via simple language and comical illustrations.

      In this book, readers will learn about the many ways spiders use their silk for survival (they can making an underwater capsule), how they reproduce, and how they care for their eggs by carrying them on their back.

      Key words are presented in huge letters so they practically leap from the page. The illustrations, while not realistic, are very effective and memorable. Gravel shows the spider in action: flying like a superhero, swinging from a silk thread and climbing on a mountaintop.

      Each of the “Disgusting Critters” books succeeds at making the most unlikeable creatures seem cute and clever. The Spider is sure to impress young children with the amazing abilities of this helpful and versatile creature.

Highly Recommended.

Claire Perrin is an elementary teacher in Toronto, ON.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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