I'm Trying to Love Spiders (I'm Trying to Love...)

Here's a guide to spiders that acknowledges that arachnids can be difficult to cozy up to. In the attempt to study them closely, Barton (This Monster Cannot Wait!) admits, bad things may happen. Sometimes the narrator's fear gets the better of her: "Oh my gosh! There's a spider stuck on there! Smash it! Squish it! Get it right now!" The next page reveals a black blot in the center of an otherwise spotless page. "We're not very good at loving spiders just yet," Barton concedes. She hikes through the landscape of spider facts, covering the bad news honestly (the "totally gross" extended arachnid family of ticks and scorpions, the way spiders liquefy their food) while also praising spiders' more impressive attributes, such as silk they spin into webs. "That's like you and me building a house with our hair," she gushes. "And then catching food on it." Big, black brushstrokes give the illustrations and text the impact of still-wet pages, as if they'd just been completed. The skillful juggling of scientific fact and emotional truth make this a winner. Ages 4-8. Agent Stephen Barr, Writers House. (July)

K-Gr 2--This informational picture book takes an amusing and novel approach. An unseen arachnophobe relates a series of fascinating facts about spiders (their appearance and anatomy, their eating habits, venomous spiders, and more) as she attempts to talk herself out of her fear after she encounters one. An outline of her hand appears repeatedly, as she contemplates squashing the creature, but she ultimately praises the arachnids for their impressive web spinning talents and their habit of consuming insects harmful to humans. The presentation is original and engaging, with a zippy text and hilarious visuals. The cartoon illustrations are appealingly childlike, with the font a hand-written scrawl, and the spiders depicted are downright cuddly. Solid material on spiders is cleverly woven into the narrative, and fun facts about different spider varieties are incorporated into the endpapers, though the content here isn't comprehensive enough for report writing. Nonetheless, the presentation is original and engaging. VERDICT A creative addition to animal collections. Pair with Elise Gravel's "Disgusting Creatures" (Tundra) books for a fun lesson plan.--Gloria Koster, West School, New Canaan, CT

"Toothy and unkempt, with wild eyes and a temper tantrum of a roar—'I wanna go camping NOW!'—Stewart fully embodies a preschooler who has not yet mastered the art of waiting. Barton's sprawling, hand-lettered text and its buoyant placement match the urgency of Stewart's desperation." —Kirkus review of This Monster Cannot Wait!