Spiders Review

Spiders [2003, Harper-Collins, ISBN: 0-06-028391-2], by Seymour Simon, is a quite informative book about spiders. Teachers or people who are interested in learning about spiders will be interested in this children's book that is easy to read and gives readers a unique and up-close look at a wide variety of spiders.

Here are a few interesting facts from Spiders:

• There are about 35,000 different types of spiders.
• One type of spider resembles bird droppings.
• Spiders are related to ticks and mites.
• It tells how to tell the difference between a spider and an insect (spider--8 legs & 2 body parts, insect--6 legs, 3 body parts, antennae)
• Pedipalps are beside spider's jaws and are used as feelers and can hold prey.
• All spiders can produce silk, which can be "three times stronger than a steel wire of the same thickness."
• Jumping spiders may jump as far as 40 times the length of its own body.
• "A black widow's bite is about 15 times more poisonous than that of a rattlesnake."
• Some spiders spend a good portion of their life underwater.

I think that what sets this book apart is the photography. It is spectacular. The pictures are amazing, close-up, and show a wide variety of spiders. The compliment the story really well, and I was impressed with the pictures of how spiders can match their surroundings with a sort of camouflage and how they can catch their prey. My only suggestions with the pictures would be to label each one with the type of spider and to have a photo of a brown recluse.

My Viewpoint:

Spiders is a very informative book about an often misunderstood animal. I still don't like to have spiders in my house, but I did learn more about spiders and was quite impressed with the pictures.