Diary of a Spider

Following the success of the popular DIARY OF A WORM, this clever picture book offers a light look at a spider's existence. This production has lots of fun sound effects (little organ runs here and there, water splashing, wind blowing, the crunch of a skin molting), which are very attractive to children. Narrator Harry Bliss supplies a variety of fun voices for the story's other characters, from playful friend Fly to grouchy Grampa to Fly's worried mom. Bliss also strikes just the right happy notes as narrator, calling playful attention to the levels of humor without overdoing it, so a variety of ages will enjoy this book. J.C.G. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

Starred review from June 6, 2005
Cronin and Bliss repeat the comic ingredients that made Diary of a Worm
so successful in this rib-tickling sequel. This time the diary is written by Worm's friend Spider and filled with similar verbal high jinks, deadpan humor and visual jokes that offer readers a whimsical glimpse of the world from a small creature's point of view. Endpapers feature photos of Spider's family as well as his favorite book (Charlotte's Web
), his discovery of a "neat sculpture!" (a toilet bowl) and a playbill from his school's production of "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" (a review blurb by Worm says, "You'll dig this play
"). Children will relate to the book's droll humor, as when Spider goes to the park with his sister ("We tried the seesaw. It didn't work") or when he takes his molted skin for show-and-tell. A slight story line about the tension between Spider's friendship with Fly and his Grampa's prejudice against all six-legged bugs threads together the amusing vignettes. (When Grampa says, "Without spiders, insects could take over the world," Bliss features a menacing alien bug as President of the United States.) This endearing book delivers a gentle message that comes through when Spider muses, "I wish that people wouldn't judge all spiders based on the few spiders that bite. I know if we took the time to get to know each other, we would get along just fine. Just like me and Fly." Ages 4-8.