Spiders

June 1, 2020
Grades 2-4 The Tiny Things, Big Impacts series (4 titles) takes a unique approach to demonstrating the importance of small animals or plants to the health of the planet at large. Each book introduces its subject in a double-page spread and then invites readers to imagine a variety of scenarios that could occur if its featured creature no longer existed, often manifesting in food shortages or exacerbated climate change. Insects run amok in Spiders, which highlights this bug's pest-control talents. The concept of a food web is established in each title, which often plays a role in the ensuing hypothetical scenarios that are told with a dash of humor to offset despair. A mix of digital illustrations and color photos is integrated into engaging magazine-style layouts with easily digestible text, and the final page of each book offers three actions the reader can take to help its critter or the environment as a whole. A unique and effective series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)