Orb spiders are weaving their webs around our yard, setting up sticky nets with silver dollar sized arachnids to avoid. My son has been interested in spider watching, so a good thematic book for the season is EricCarle’s The Very Busy Spider.
The Very Busy Spider builds upon a common board book schema of
introducing various farm animals and their sounds. Added to this is a story about
a spider who cannot play with a line-up of barnyard friends because she is too
busy quietly building her web. This industrious protagonist ultimately (spoiler
alert! ) reaches her goal, catches a pesky fly, and rests peacefully after a
job well done.
Like many other Carle books, this one stands out because of
its tactile engagement—the spider web and fly wings are raised. However, the
third dimension is subtle; even though I model rubbing the page, my son still
has not copied me. He does enjoy and respond to the art and the animal sounds
that I make. But given our current eight-legged neighbors, the book’s biggest
draw is the intriguing big spider on every page, weaving her web a few silk
strings at a time.
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