SPIDERS

The creepy-crawly close-up photo of a hairy spider on the cover will have kids (and adults) saying “Yuck!” while they grab the book to look for more inside. As with other Simon photographic nonfiction, this presents information on spiders in easy, understandable prose. The facts are made relative—for example, “jumping spiders can leap a distance of 40 times the length of its own body, the same as if you jumped the length of two basketball courts and made a slam dunk.” Examples interestingly describe the facts, e.g., “some spider silk is three times stronger than steel wire of the same thickness.” This is casual nonfiction, no chapters, categories, or index, but the amazing close-up color photos make the almost conversational text captivating. A subject that both fascinates and repels at the same time, this mini-documentary will have kids spinning their own stories about the spiders they’ve now discovered. (Nonfiction. 6-10)