Spider Books

Dragonflies have always been among my favorite insects and I was somewhat aware of their variety and beauty, especially in North America. However, Jill Silsby has produced a book that amazed me with the complexity of dragonflies and the closely related damselflies worldwide. These amazing creatures are now starting to get the appreciation they deserve and this book amply demonstrates why they should be appreciated for their ephemeral beauty, their astonishing variety, their remarkable life histories and their interesting behavior. From spider-catching Forest Giants (damselflies) to the primitive Petaltails (dragonflies) they are all here in this book. I wish that such an introduction had been available to me when I was beginning in entomology!

The excellent photographs should also be mentioned. These are just wonderful and I cannot express my full admiration for the selection! Every insect and arachnid order should have a similarly well-illustrated tome written about it in the same format.

If you have even a remote interest in these fantastic insects, get this book!

Being an amateur and looking for good books on dragonflies is hard. This book gives plenty of facts and pictures. A great alternative if you are not ready to spend $... on some of the the more well known books.

This book is one of the best recent examples of naturalistic painting that I have seen in a while. Her use of texture and keen eye for detail make this book a beautiful work. It is absolutely fabulous.

I was delighted and amazed with this charming book on insects. I picked it up as a coffee table book, but it soon became one of my favorites. Koch's illustrations are unique and eye catching, and her text is informative and fun. This book is a well loved member of my library, not to mention my coffee table...

When a very tired ant named DreddieLocks visits the very slimy home of three banana slugs, a very sticky situation ensues. The mischievous ant samples the absent slugs' gruel, tries out their beds, and in the process because very sticky with more and more slug stuff adhering to him with the ultra sticky nature of banana-slug slime coming up against an ant's incredible strength. A whimsical and highly recommended addition to school and community library picture book collections for young readers ages 5 to 8, Dreddielocks & The Three Slugs is author Margaret E. Hyde's debut picture book and was inspired while taking long strolls through the redwoods with her children in Santa Cruz, California. It is also the picturebook debut of illustrator Curtis Parker.

Meet Ooey, Gooey, and Looey. Three banana slugs who are covered in slime that is stickier than any glue in the entire world. Ooey, Gooey, and Looey live in a slimy house located in an old stump in the redwood forest. Today, the three banana slugs, unsuspecting of any "funny" business have decided to go on a nice stroll through the forest, as it's such a beautiful day. That's where Dreddielocks, a curious young ant, who is not only exhausted, but tired, and hungry, as well. Dreddielocks is walking deep in the redwood forest when he comes across the ultra-slimy home of Ooey, Gooey, and Looey. However, as Dreddielocks begins to explore the banana slugs' home, random things begin sticking to him, such as furniture. Dreddielocks doesn't know what to do. Now Dreddielocks has to find a way to get himself un-stuck before the banana slugs return home and find him trespassing on their property.

DREDDIELOCKS & THE THREE SLUGS is sure to be an absolute hit with children, especially around Halloween, as the illustrations (by Curtis Parker) are very reminiscent of Fall/Autumn. Margaret Hyde has created an enjoyable re-telling of GOLDIELOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS, starring four bugs, which will capture the imagination and attention of children. Her vivid descriptions of slime, and yucky porridge are wonderful, and make the reader feel as if they are right there alongside Dreddielocks, Ooey, Gooey, and Looey. And, as an added bonus, the back of the book contains facts about both banana slugs and ants.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

My 4-year-old daughter and I stumbled across this last winter and have been enjoying it thoroughly ever since. Mr. Zahn was apparently an illustrator who made his living doing fruit crate labels for the Muirson Label Co. in San Jose, California. This book, full of gorgeous fruit-crate-style art was something he did for his own kids 40 years ago.

I wonder how it occurred that he finally published it after all those years--commercial success or even public consumption don't seem to have ever been among this book's goals. I'm curious if his kids (the ones who grew up hearing the story) had anything to do with it finally being published. The story itself is a timeless coming-of-age story, borrowing equally from The Ugly Duckling and Thumbelina. Also, there's a song in there that is very catchy (the tune is Clementine) and my chicklet and I love singing it together. Nothing on TV could ever beat that. Thank you Mr. Zahn. And thank you Mrs. Zahn and whoever made sure this was published.

This book is a real find and I look forward to giving this as a gift for children and their parents for years to come.

Dudley is for everybody. Its universal theme encompasses all ages and all backgrounds. Dudley teaches us to comb our hair, take our vitamins, get our sleep, laugh at our troubles - in short, to live our lives each day with integrity so that we can eventually discover our place and purpose in life. My students and I were mesmerized by this extraordinary story of how a dirty, woebegone worm grew in self-esteem and self-respect to find his true nature. Dudley gives us all wings!

I got this for a friend who LOVES ladybugs! Hasn't picked it up yet. I sure the book will be enjoyed!

My 3 year old daughter has been attracted for ladybugs for a long time. This book is great because it has some wonderful pictures but also has good information in it too. I like that it can read like a storybook if you just read the main parts, but you can also go at your own pace and read the extra information alongside the pictures. It really is a great buy for only 5 bucks!

I purchased this for my daugher's first birthday. She loved this book. She loved it a bit too much because she finally riped most of the pop-ups out. It is a cute book, I just wish it was a bit more sturdy.

My almost one year old can't get enough of this wonderful book about his favorite song! He loves to lift the flaps and to listen to me sing as we flip through the pages. By far, it's his favorite book!

This is a wonderful book with stickers. What kid doesn't love stickers? Both boys and girls love the Miss Spider characters. A great buy.

The time has come for the Lily Fair in Sunny Patch, the community's own little version of Easter. Everybuggy is headed to Primrose Park for a special celebration. The kids are especially excited that the prospect of finding candy eggs, left by the Lily Fairy. These eggs are made with a special ingredient, love.

This is a "Miss Spider" Sticker Story, allowing the reader to decorate the story. There are sets of stickers for each page. The reader can create the scene as desired, or else use the stickers as they like. Many of the stickers include glitter.

Having five children and six grand children, I've read more than my share of children's books in my time. All too often they tend to blur with a homogenized sameness that makes most of them easily forgettable. Not so with this little gem.

ENTOPIA tells the story of a group of bugs who all become trapped in a candy store shop-vac operated by the janitor. In this huge, debris and junk cluttered bag they form a township, elect a mayor and proceed to live their lives. The town is called Entopia and is established as a place of peace and harmony for all its citizens. When a lost bee named William arrives in Entopia, he is both awed and intrigued by this odd community. William gets to know the other bugs and although he misses his home hive, begins to settle in.

All this changes when a newcomer, a sugar-ant named Adam, reports that his colony has not only kidnapped William's brother, Robert, but has gone off to attack the home-hive for the honey it holds. Frantic to save both his brother and the hive, William convinces the other bugs of Entopia to help him escape the shop-vac and go warn the hive.
Gordon, a scorpion, devises a plan to clog the shop-vac thus forcing the janitor to empty it earlier than scheduled. Using an old discarded party balloon patched up by Swirl, the spider mayor, all the bugs float away in it as the bag is tilted upside over the dumpster behind the candy store.

From that point on William and his friends experience one amazing adventure after another on their journey to the hive. Individually and together, they learn to work as a real family, each displaying unique skills and bravery. William is given life lessons about love, tolerance and sacrifice along the way. Lessons he puts to magnificent use at the book's climax when must stop the war between the bees and ants. This is truly an imaginative tale that will enthrall both young and old with its colorful characters and settings, at the same time holding up a mirror to our own confused and complicated world.

ENTOPIA is a truly special book and I am so happy to have experienced. I think you will be too.

Kevin Olson paints beautiful pictures with words. Not only does he tell a great story, but his words flow with a rhythm and ease that carry the reader through his tale. Like his "Eerey Tocsin in the Cryptoid Zoo," this is a wonderful book sure to entertain the young or young at heart. Eerey Tocsin in the Cryptoid Zoo

I had to look for awhile and put an Amazon search out to find this one used and I'm SO glad I did. This book was recommended to me by a locat naturalist who has been photographing and cataloging moths for many years. His copy is well worn with wonderful notes in the margins (oh if only I could have found such an edition!) I finally found this one and must say I'm starting to make my own annotations in the margins. Moths are pretty tricky to id - there are just so many different species. This book has been wonderful for me though - there are many color plates and the images are pretty clear. Arrows are drawn to specific areas where you should look to help distinguish between this and that species. The text is great too - helps in narrowing down which species it is if you know it either definitely does/does not occur in your area. Food sources are provided too which helps to solve the mystery. Similar species are indicated so you can see what you might be confusing the species with. Fantastic book - so glad I found it!!

Dr. Covell has done a marvelous job with this field guide. His wonderful descriptions and pictures of moths make it easy for the average Joe to identify moths.

The book "Fireflies in the Night" was a good introduction to beginning science for pre-schoolers because it uses a familiar phenomenon, the firefly, to teach about the concept of cool light as opposed to warm light. It was simply written to inform and not overly complex for the pre-schooler it was intended for, who is a curious 4-year old girl. She lives in Southern California and wanted to know about fireflies, which are not ordinarilly found where she lives.

There are other books listed on the back cover which appeal to the young and curious scientist and are also worthwhile.

The book arrived in tact and on time to present to my 4-year old granddaughter who is very inquisitive and loved receiving it and learning something new.

Marie Teehan, Del Mar, CA

This book is about a young girl who visits who grandparents during the summer. Her grandparents live on a farm and know a lot about fireflies including how to catch and how to handle them. The young girl learns some interesting facts about the fireflies and how people in other countries use the light that fireflies provide. The grandfather explains how fireflies make their light; as well as the different light signals that males and females produce. This book can make readers eager to finish the page they are on, so that they can turn to the next page and learn another fascinating fact. It is a splendid introduction to fireflies!