Luigi, the Spider Who Wanted to Be a Kitten

By Author / Illustrator

Michelle Knudsen, Kevin Hawkes

Genre

Representation & Inclusion

Age range(s)

Publisher

Walker Books

ISBN

9781529517828

Format

Hardback

Published

06-06-2024

Synopsis

The New York Times bestselling and award-winning creators behind Library Lion deliver a warm (and delightfully fuzzy) storybook, another classic in the making, marked by humour and depth, endearing characters and the assurance that the right people will accept and adore us, unconditionally, just as we are.

On a street of old houses, a big hairy spider is searching for a home with dark corners to hide in. But when he wakes up, he finds a hand reaching for him, and a lady proclaiming that she has always wanted a kitten - and will name him Luigi!

At first, a somewhat puzzled Luigi, used to being left alone to creep and dangle and spin webs, resists her kind advances. But soon, tasty breakfasts and getting tucked into bed (no one's ever wished him good night before) have him thinking that kittens surely live magical lives. I will be a kitten! he decides. But how long can he keep up his facade, and what might be at stake in pretending to be someone you're not?

Reviews

Luigi is a "big, hairy spider" looking for a new home. He finds a house and a cosy spot underneath the sofa where it's nice and dark. But then the woman who owns the house - Betty- picks up Luigi from where he is sleeping, and exclaims that she's always wanted a pet kitten! She treats Luigi like a cat, feeding him and cuddling him, and he begins to think perhaps a kitten's life is actually what he wants. He embraces kitten life, but misses doing more spidery things like spinning webs and creeping around in corners. One day, Betty's friends come over, and Luigi overhears them say that he is a spider. Will Betty still care for him, knowing what Luigi really is?

Luigi, the Spider Who Wanted to Be a Kitten took me by surprise. I am often unable to contain my fear of spiders, and the idea of reading a book with a spider in it generally doesn't appeal! But the beautiful illustrations and soft colours make this a cosy, friendly spider image which I wasn't at all scared of (phew)! Kevin Hawkes's illustrations cleverly show Luigi looking more and more kitten-like, bending his legs into ears and a tail.

Luigi's story is one that many of us can relate to - about trying to be something you aren't and trying to fit in. It's about searching for your identity and finding your people, the ones who accept you as you are, and love you for being yourself. I think there's a really important message in this book for all young children that might have felt unsure about how to behave or felt pressures to pretend they like what others like. "He pretended so hard that he almost believed it himself" was a line that really struck me as this can so often be true.

I can see this book being read aloud to classes and prompting great discussions about identity, conforming, peer pressure, acceptance, unconditional love, being yourself, and also neurodiversity. As a neurodivergent myself, there is a lot in this book that relates to masking and trying to show that you can do things "normally" when all along you're fighting the urge to go back to the dark, quiet corners and hide away.

A really sweet story with lovely illustrations, ideal for reading aloud to children aged three upwards.

Picture book / Reviewed by Laura Richards