SPARTACUS THE SPIDER

Confronted with failure followed by success, a jaunty spider puts honor before fame. With his gladiator name, Spartacus should be destined for greatness, but his weak threads and droopy webs make him the laughing stock of escaping flies and moths. Humiliated and hungry, a confounded Spartacus gets a helpful tip from a mouse and soon spins the strongest threads into unbreakable webs. But what if his web traps all the flies, moths, birds and even airplanes—forever? Faced with such daunting consequences, Spartacus decides his "old, loppy threads" may be just fine. Appropriately armed with gladiator helmet, shield and spear, Spartacus tells his story in the first person as he casts silken threads and weaves floppy webs across double-page spreads. Delicate watercolor-and-pencil illustrations in muted browns and grays rely on simple shapes, white space, arresting angles and surprising close-ups to provide a spider's-eye peek at Spartacus and his diminutive engineering feats. Readers should enjoy this eight-legged hero who succeeds by being himself—if they can get over being worried about how he will feed himself. (Picture book. 5-7)