Spider!

Spider is a bright and enjoyable offering from Alison Steadman about a boy's new friendship with the house spider living behind his TV. The premis behind the book is to try and deter people from the thinking that spiders are scary and we should get rid of them from our homes. The children in my class enjoyed the story of how Rafael befriended the eight-legged mini beast and all made the 'Spider Pledge' (a nice touch at the end of the book). The book was very relatable as the children were keen to share their experiences of spiders in the home and how they are dealt with. The children also enjoyed the pictures and how the story had a happy ending. Of course, any book which mentions the word 'bottom' is likely to be a winner with a group of five year olds! As for me, I was left feeling a little let down buy the story itself. I felt like the story was missing some content, a bit more padding if you will. There is nothing wrong with following such a simple structure and journey though, especially with the clever use of 'facts' on every page. This allowed readers of all age to learn something about spiders and most of the facts were in line with the context of the story section. I think this book would be an enjoyable story time read for a class working about the mini beast topic and could even offer some research based sessions when retrieving spider facts. I am sure the children in my class would happily pick this book up again and enjoy it over and over , and at the end of the day, that is what really counts. Picture book / Ages 3+ / Reviewed by Kyle Matravers, teacher.

Suggested Reading Age 3+