Product Description

YOUNG READERS WILL LOVE this first glimpse into the creepy, crawly, complex world of spiders, scorpions, mites, and ticks in this latest title in the About... series. Author Cathryn Sill explains in easy-to-understand language what arachnids are, how they live, what they eat, and how they reproduce. Wildlife painter John Sills' detailed realistic illustrations reflect the diversity of the arachnid population--from the poisonous Brown Recluse Spider to the innocuous Giant Desert Hairy Scorpion--and present each in its natural habitat. An appendix, which provides further detail on the arachnids portrayed, will inspire young readers to learn more about these fascinating, often misunderstood creatures.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1314470 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-18
• Released on: 2003-09-18
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 40 pages

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-In this addition to the Sills' nature series, 15 full-page watercolor paintings depict 16 kinds of arachnids. The text briefly describes either a physical or behavioral characteristic common to all arachnids, or a special characteristic of the one shown. For instance, the line accompanying a painting of a brown daddy longlegs reads, "Arachnids have eight legs-" while the sentence, "Many arachnids spin silk to help them capture food" appears opposite a portrait of a golden silk spider in the middle of its web. In an afterword, short blocks of additional text offer more detail and miscellaneous bits of information. The primary focus here is on the paintings. The watercolors of invertebrates in natural settings are attractive and realistic, reflecting the messy details of nature-leaf litter, leaves with holes chewed in them, etc. However, the artwork isn't always entirely successful. For instance, the text states that arachnids have "-two main body parts," but it is hard to see two distinct parts in the painting of the desert tarantula since it shows only a side view of the spider and its front legs and carapace are virtually the same color. The depictions of ticks and garden spiderlings are so small that it is difficult to distinguish characteristics. Margery Facklam's Spiders and Their Web Sites (Little, Brown, 2001) provides more thorough descriptions of six of the same spiders, plus the daddy longlegs, and is illustrated with clear close-up drawings.
Karey Wehner, formerly at San Francisco Public Library
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
PreS-Gr. 2. Similar to the Sills' previous introductory books about animals, such as About Amphibians (2001) and About Insects (2000), this clearly written presentation offers the basic facts about arachnids in very simple language, enhanced by excellent, large-scale paintings. A typical double-page spread features a sentence or phrase about arachnids on one side, with a clearly delineated example of one species in its habitat on the other. The species is identified in small type, along with the plate number. On the last four pages, a small version of each picture is reproduced in black and white, along with more information about the individual species shown, which include the brown daddy longlegs, the California trapdoor spider, the eastern wood tick, and the giant desert hairy scorpion. This colorful volume is well designed for children intrigued by the eight-legged creatures and for teachers planning preschool and primary-grade units on arachnids. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"...this clearly written presentation offers the basic facts about arachnids in very simple language, enhanced by excellent, large scale paintings... This colorful volume is well-designed for children intrigued by the eight-legged creatures and for teachers planning preschool and primary-grade units on arachnids." -Booklist "...a beautifully illustrated volume that is ideal to read aloud. The exquisite paintings do much to mitigate the distaste some children show toward spiders and their relatives." -Science and Children

Customer Reviews

Wise and wonderful
Young children will learn and retain more about arachnids from these spare pages, than from any other introductory picture book on the subject that I' ve seen. Using the same simple language and up-close "in the wild" illustrations of earlier books in the "About" series on birds, mammals, reptiles and so on, "About Arachnids" answer all the basic questions inquisitive pre-schoolers might pose when first engaged by the subject of arachnids, i.e., spiders, scorpions, mites and ticks. Its simplicity is beautiful. Rather than give a lecture on the scientific classification or various species, the first page boils it down to just four words -- "Arachnids have eight legs..." accompanied by a beautifully rendered close-up illustration of two Brown Daddy Longlegs. The thought continues on the next spread, depicting a color-camoflaged Desert Tarantula: "...and two main body parts." Other fascinating species are selected for inclusion, from the crablike Spiny Orb Weaver to the daring Jumping Spider. Children will naturally want to know more about these mini-beasts, so the creators have included a four-page afterword that pairs a paragraph of data with a repeated black-and-white sketch of the arachnid. Best, the author avoids unnecessary drama - and, in fact, judgement of any kind - when it comes to such much-maligned crawlers as the black widow, tarantula and deer tick. Rather, the conclusion calmly, rationally states "Some arachnids may cause harm [Brown recluse]...but most are helpful and should be protected." Wise and wonderful.