The Very Busy Spider

#1465 in our old book database. Rated: Good

A very focused spider stays on task as a series of farm animals invite her to join them in their favorite pastimes. The repetition is a little much but it pays off in the end for the reader and the spider, and there are plenty of fun animal sounds as well as textured pages to keep us engaged along the way to the inevitable and ghastly conclusion.

The sun comes up and a spider begins to spin a web of silky thread. Throughout the day, farm animals approach the very busy spider to ask if she'd like to join them in various leisure activities. But the spider never answers any of them, and continues to busy herself spinning her web. As you turn the pages, Eric Carle beautifully illustrates the increasingly detailed web as it nears completion, giving the web a clear-but-silvery color that could almost be real; and, if you run your hand over the page, the strands of the web are slightly raised, so your fingers can feel the added detail of each page. Throughout the book, with each new animal that approaches the spider, there is a fly that finds a place in the scene, an illustration that show more is also textured. When at last the rooster approaches and asks the spider if she would like to catch a pesky fly, the spider indeed catches the fly with her beautifully completed web, naturally, without a word. When the night falls, the spider is visited for the last time by an owl who insists on asking "Whoo? Whoo?" built the beautiful web? But there is still no answer from the spider, who is fast asleep, exhausted by the day's work.

This is a fantastic book for the infant/toddler or Pre-K crowd, as it's a book made to be touched, creating an interactive story for the audience, while introducing several farm animals and the sounds they make. It is a beautifully constructed and illustrated book, sure to become a favorite of small children who will ask for it again and again. show less

A thin silky thread floats across the fields and lands on the fence post. A spider begins to spin a web on the fence. Throughout the day, she works away at the web, slowly but surely creating a masterpiece. The animals in the farmyard start to get curious about what the spider was crafting. They slowly begin to come by and see the spider. The horse, the cow, the sheep, the goat, the pig, the dog, and the cat all come to visit the spider one-by-one. But she doesn’t answer their questions about what she is making. Why? Because she is too busy spinning.

“The Very Busy Spider” is a wonderful story for young children. The engaging animal sounds allow children listening to the book to interact with the story, which is great for the show more young kids. The pictures are vivid drawn and delightful to look at. I love “The Very Busy Spider” for its simple yet enjoyable story in the awesome board book style. show less

The Very Busy Spider is your typical children's fiction book. It is short and sweet with a hidden message or lesson to teach children. One animal every so often asks the spider if they want to do something with them, as she is busy trying to weave her web. Children can be really interactive with this book, which I love. They can act out the animal noises, and then also act out how a spider builds their web. This can show children, even though the message may be hard to see, but determination is important to have. This book really shows anyone that if you put in all the hard work, eventually everything you've worked for will pull off.

Eric Carle is one of America’s most beloved children’s author. He has published over seventy books since 1965 and any child worth their literary salt is familiar his seminal works “The Very Hungry Caterpiller” and “Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?”. We read those two books on a regular basis to our children. Our oldest daughter was even able to recite them by the time she was three.

The book I’m reviewing today, The Very Busy Spider, is one of Carle’s lesser know works (it doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page) so when I saw a hardbound copy on sale for only $1.00 I jumped at the chance to add this rare piece to our collection.

It bears Carle’s distinctive writing style and illustrative prowess. Much like his award show more winning book “Polar Bear, Polar Bear What Do You Hear?”, this work captures the distinctive voices of the animal kingdom like only Eric Carle can. The artwork is vibrate and bright as usual, but it showcases a progression towards fine details that “Brown Bear” lacks. The Very Busy Spider even includes textured paint to enhance the reading experience. Children not only hear and see the story, but get to feel the story. Unfortunately the narrative left me wondering just what message was being conveyed to impressionable children.

The Very Busy Spider follows a the exploits of an arrogant and haughty Spider who flies “across the field” – presumably from the city – to start a new life in the country. She settles onto an idyllic farm and begins to set up her household. The peaceful and quaint members of the farm community quickly arrive to embrace their new neighbor. The narcissistic Spider, however, refuses to speak or even acknowledge their existence.

Countless neighbors offer a warm welcome to their town’s newest resident by inviting her to enjoy the various recreational opportunities the farm has to offer. Whether it’s swimming, running, napping, or some other activity, each invitation is silently rebuffed. In a chilling turn of events, one resident, a Rooster, invites Spider to play a game of “catch the fly” with him, but Spider kills the fly and silently stares him down until he leaves in shock. She’s so arrogant that she even scorns the praise she receives on her house building abilities!

Regrettably my daughter loves this book and often wants me to read it multiple times in a single sitting. Despite my reservations I have continued to oblige her. However recently she has begun exhibiting, although more vocally than Spider, a similar self-centered attitude. She often screams when she wants a toy or second helpings at dinner rather than asking politely. She has even begun ignoring simple directions and requests. My hope is that this is just a general phase that all two-year old children experience and that it’s not the result of emulating Spider. Only time will tell if I have made a grave error in allowing this book onto our shelves.

Read with caution. show less

The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle tells the story of a determined spider who dedicates her entire day to spinning her web. Despite being approached by various animals inviting her to join different activities, the spider stays focused on her task. Ultimately, her hard work pays off as she creates a beautiful web. The story's theme is the importance of sticking to your goals (dedication) and perseverance. The book contains a consistent theme; the left-hand page always features a single animal, such as a pig, sheep, cat, and others, while the right-hand page always depicts the spider and her progress in creating the web. The thin, almost perfectly straight lines of the spider's web highlight the spider's hard work and commitment, as each show more page shows more and more perfect lines being woven. The illustrations are simple and repetitive, yet each animal depicted has distinct characteristics. Bright colors are used effectively for each animal, which also helps highlight the unique textures of each animal. For example, the white sheep's curly wool, the shades of pink showcase the pig's smooth appearance, and the brightly colored feathers shown on the rooster. Also, familiar sounds are associated with each animal, such as a cow saying "Moo! Moo!" and a dog saying "Woof! Woof!" These features help younger readers efficiently recognize the animals. In addition, these visuals also help capture a child's attention while reinforcing the story's message through simplicity. show less

Десятая книга Эрика Карла, переведенная на русский язык! Паучок плетет свою паутину: он внимателен и сосредоточен, и никто не может его отвлечь – ни лошадь, ни корова, ни свинья, ни кот. Как всегда у Эрика Карла, в книге есть обучающая часть: ребенок учит как говорят разные животные и следит за тем, как растет паутина. Особенно понравится малышам то, что паутину можно потрогать. А летом — посмотреть, как это show more выглядит в природе. show less