Nothing Scares Spider!

Praise

Spider can’t wait to adventure out into the world, but her insect buddies think this is a scary proposition. Spider insists, “Spiders aren’t scared of anything!” To ease her friends’ concerns, she leaves a thread of web they can pull in case of emergencies, and off she goes. Time after time she ventures forth and comes close to being gobbled up by various insectivores, only to be unknowingly rescued as her friends have various “emergencies.” Spider becomes increasingly impatient with these interruptions, until a web tug brings her face-to-face with a real emergency, a frog that has its hungry eyes on her and her friends! After a frightening moment, all the bugs work to get away and the adventurous arachnid admits that even spiders get scared sometimes. The bright, simple illustrations help build the story’s tension and humor. Overall, this is a simple, warm tale of friendship, independence, and feelings, and preschoolers will delight in the near misses, as well as the message that we can all use a little help from our friends. –Booklist