Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #773162 in Books
• Published on: 2006-05-01
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .9" h x 6.44" w x 8.88" l, .16 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

From Amazon.com
David Kirk, creator of the bestselling favorites Miss Spider's Tea Party and Miss Spider's Wedding, has created another deliciously quirky, rhyming Miss Spider adventure. This time the amiable arachnid is car-shopping with her husband Holley. At Mantis Motors, a praying mantis named Mik is a used car sales-insect: "Mik Mantis crooned, 'This honey runs/On Nectar from a flower./Its two-stem engine is equipped/With turbo-bumble power,/And capable of reaching speeds/Near ninety yards per hour!'"

Miss (or is it now Mrs.?) Spider and Holley explore other car lots (including Meg's Wings n' Things) and encounter a few near misses, but all ends well thanks to the help of benevolent Moth Sue. The book's clever and original verse is laced with subtle ironies that won't be lost on you or your little ones; in the first spread, for example, a note arrives "snail mail," because the postal carrier is a snail. Kirk's exuberant, luminous colors and hilarious, cartoonish depictions of the bug world are truly wonderful. Miss Spider's New Car is the perfect book for any child who loves cars or bugs--not to mention a clever gift for any adult itching to buy his or her dream car. (Ages 4 to 8)

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2?Upon receiving an invitation to tea from her mother, Miss Spider takes her husband's advice and shops for a new car. (Only on the jacket copy is Holley recognized as Miss Spider's new husband.) Together they test drive several fanciful models: some powered by wings and jumping legs, and others with leaves, grass, twigs, and other plant parts. At last, they try out the "Inferno," powered by matches, but the steering locks, the brakes fail, and they jump to avoid an explosion. Miss Spider then decides to return to the first car she saw, the blue one at Bub Bumble Bee's. However, Holley has secretly arranged for Moth Sue to purchase that car as a surprise for his wife. Miss Spider's disappointment at missing out on her favorite vehicle turns to delight when she spies the dazzling, "just right" little car on her own lawn. The energetic verse conveys the movement of the vehicles. Full-color, cartoonlike paintings, rendered in jewel tones, depict each eventful test drive on full- or double-page spreads. With judicious use of light, varied perspectives, and a fluid line that indicates motion, the lavish, enthusiastic pictures extend the text. This outing will be good for storytimes or one-on-one sharing so children can explore the details of the illustrations. Young readers will enjoy this exuberant companion to the earlier books.?Cynthia K. Richey, Mt. Lebanon Public Library, Pittsburgh, PA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
For Miss Spider's fans (Miss Spider's Wedding, 1995, etc.), another visit to the long-lashed, pointy-nosed arachnid and her garish, high-gloss world. Miss Spider and her fuss-budget husband Holley are test-driving cars cunningly fashioned from shells, plant and insect parts, and matchboxes (will youngsters pick up on the visual pun?). Miss Spider loves the first car she sees, but Holley insists on trying others, then--for no discernible reason-- surreptitiously arranges to have her first choice delivered to her home as a surprise. The inconsequential narrative, spun out in doggerel verse, seems to exist mainly as an excuse for the clever pictures. The last page promises--threatens--a boat-buying expedition as a sequel. (Picture book. 4-7) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.