Margaret Bloy Graham (1920–2015)

Be Nice to Spiders by Margaret Bloy Graham is an older title, but it still serves as a valuable lesson, with the theme that even the smallest creature can have a big impact on the world around them. The book reminds young readers to respect nature and its processes, as well as reassures them that though they themselves are small, they have the potential to do important things.

Helen the spider is our protagonist and I would argue that if we treat Helen as the "person" she's stuck in a show more person-against-society conflict. She's not just up against one person, nor is she battling with herself. She's up against society's attitude about—and actions toward—spiders. They see her as a pest, rather than seeing her contribution to the zoo. The resolution comes with the zookeeper's (and the zoo community's) character development, challenging and changing the way they view Helen and coming to realize her value.

The illustrations are drawn in a cartoon art style and are very detailed; the expressions of the animals add depth to the story. The contrast between the animals’ agitation and distress when the flies are buzzing around them and their peaceful expressions after Helen clears out all of the flies, makes the problem (and Helen’s value) easy to see and understand for young readers.

What stood out most to me was the message that every part of our ecosystem, even creatures that we might consider icky or scary, have important roles. It’s a reminder that we all belong, and we each have something to contribute to the world around us.

I think this book is probably most well-suited for children between the ages of 4 and 6. It might be a bit too slow for a child much older than that, and too complex for a child much younger. I appreciated that the author didn’t shy away from using bigger words such as “ventilator,” “contented,” and “irritable,” since their inclusion can help a young reader develop a richer vocabulary.

Overall, I loved this book. It’s well thought out, fun, and informative. show less

I can't help but admire how nonchalantly this one wears its hypocrisy and self-interest on its shoulder--be nice to the spiders because they eat the flies; and as for the flies, fuck them, they taste good.

I almost gave 4 stars instead of 5 because Helen is a cartoony spider instead of more naturalistic however I know some people (me) get The Ick looking at spiders so this is a nice way to learn without manyeyesmanylegsfangs

I’m Team No Spiders but this is a good book for learning and discussing.

However

I can't believe that this wonderful treasure (available on openlibrary), and all the other books with a similar theme, haven't made nearly enough of an impression on most people. My husband's daughter, age 40 something, still thinks of spiders as monsters. I wish he'd read this to his kids when they were young.
---
Reread. The OKC library bought a copy! Yay, because we need to learn to treasure spiders. The zoo setting is a bit of a problem, but it gives you a chance to have the discussion show more about caging animals, too.

(Remember that often modern wildlife parks are the home to efforts to increase the numbers of critically endangered animals so that they can be introduced into the wild. And also that they're often the only chance for people to actually see wildlife and learn about it firsthand.) show less