It’s taken me a while to get around to writing about this splendid picture book, but my boys have recently been requesting it (again), and I couldn’t let another month go by without sharing it with you.
If you haven’t yet picked up The Spider and the Fly, a picture book based on the cautionary tale by Mary Hewitt and illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi (who also illustrated The Spiderwick Chronicles), you are truly missing out on something extraordinary.
Not only is the poetry of the book beautiful, but the illustrations are stunning. It is probably one of the best “dark” picture books that I’ve ever read.
Here are three things I love about this book:
1. The illustrations. They are all done in black and white, which lends it a dark gothic feel. I love this. The illustrations are also beautifully detailed and wonderfully entertaining, underlining the creepy relationship between a spider and a fly the spider would like to eat.
2. The poetry is rhyming but not in a silly way. In fact, this poem is sophisticated in both its rhyme scheme and its lyricism. It will be a delight for children, parents, and kid-less adults to read this one aloud.
3. It’s a book with a moral. This is the classic tale of the spider and the fly, with a caution at the end:
“And now, dear little children, who may this story read,
To idle, silly, flattering words, I pray you ne’er give heed;
Unto an evil counselor,
Close heart and ear and eye,
And take a lesson from this tale
Of the Spider and the Fly.”
If you’re looking for a fun and entertaining book to read with children, look no further than this one. And if you don’t really fancy reading with children, pick it up anyway. Its beautiful poetry is enough to warrant at least a read or two.
The book mentioned above has an affiliate link attached to it, which means I’ll get a small kick-back if you click on it and purchase. But I only recommend books I enjoy reading myself. Actually, I don’t even talk about books I didn’t enjoy. I’d rather forget I ever wasted time reading them. (But if you’re curious whether I’ve read something and what I thought about it, don’t hesitate to ask.)
