Spiders Spin Webs - Hardcover

Yvonne Winer
Author
Yvonne Winer has written twenty children's books. Yvonne lives in Queensland, Australia, with her two cats, possums, wallabies, bandicoots, king parrots, and plenty of lorikeets.

Illustrator: Karen Lloyd-Jones

Karen Lloyd-Jones received the 1997 Wilderness Society Environment Award for Children's Books for Spiders Spin Webs, her first picture book.

Grade 1-5-A poetry book that's as deftly constructed as the silken snares it celebrates. Winer introduces 15 different kinds of spiders in two-page sections. On the verso of each spread, five lines of verse are presented along with a portrait of a spider. On the opposite page, a realistically rendered painting, done in watercolor, gouache, and airbrush, depicts the same arachnid in its natural habitat (in two cases, only its web is shown). The verses focus on the webs, or the use of spider silk (not all species spin webs); they allude, as well, to the cycles of nature that affect the creatures. The poetry is full of rich imagery, has a strong meter, and reads aloud well. The first and last line of every verse are the same. A two-page "Spider Identification Guide" is appended. A reduced version of the portrait accompanying each poem is also included. While there are some collections of nature poetry that include a poem or two about arachnids, they are few and far between; often the selections are comical in nature and paint the spider in a sinister light. With its beautiful artwork and smoothly written verse, Spiders Spin Webs is a rare treat. It effectively expresses a reverence toward nature in a way that children can understand.
Karey Wehner, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.