Nic Bishop Spiders (Sibert Honor Book) [Hardcover]

Nic Bishop (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Nic Bishop's signature up-close, stop-action photographs show spiders larger than life.

For the first to third grade set, spiders are fascinating and suitably gruesome, especially when looked at in EXTREME close-up. Amazing images show the beauty and otherworldliness of spiders. Simple, engaging text conveys basic information about spiders as well as cool and quirky facts. One stop-action montage shows a spider leaping twenty times its body length!

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Much different from the usual sweet spider story, this photo-rich picture book is packed with astonishing facts about these highly successful predators. The chatty text explains that spiders were around more than 350 million years ago, long before lions and tigers; and that today more than 38,000 types still exist and are doing just fine. Bishop, a biologist and an expert photographer (he provided the pictures for Joy Cowley's Red-Eyed Tree Frog, Booklist's 2000 Top of the List—Nonfiction title), once again uses beautiful full-color photos to bring exciting science to children. General facts are here: the difference between spiders and insects; body parts (most spiders have eight eyes, although that doesn't mean they all see particularly well); how they eat; and more. Each double-page spread includes a dramatic, brilliantly colored close-up of a spider in its natural habitat or at Bishop's home, where he raised spiders so he could easily follow their molting, courting, and egg laying. One of the first photos is of the biggest known spider, the Goliath birdeater tarantula from South America, which is as big as a page in this large-size book. Whether it's the hairs on a spider's legs that sense touch or the gruesome stuff about how spiders turn their preys' insides into soup, the details are riveting. Rochman, Hazel

Review

Praise for Nic Bishop Spiders: An ALA Sibert Honor Book An NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book "Dazzling full-color close ups." -School Library Journal, starred review "Packed with astonishing facts" -Booklist, starred review

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Nonfiction (September 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439877563
• ISBN-13: 978-0439877565
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #323,470 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great book!, June 20, 2008

By 

A. L. Berey (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nic Bishop Spiders (Sibert Honor Book) (Hardcover)

My son is 5 and very curious about insects (and most things in general)... the descriptions are interesting and photos fantastic. While there's a lot of depth there, you can skip some of it, and cover what you choose. I definitely recommend it for any child that's intellectually curious and not squeamish about bugs!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Natural history facts to captivate even reluctant readers., January 8, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nic Bishop Spiders (Sibert Honor Book) (Hardcover)

Nic Bishop's SPIDERS examines all kinds of spiders through the lens of Nic Bishop's close-up color photography. Full-page spider images are accompanied by natural history facts to captivate even reluctant readers.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An award winning nature book!, July 26, 2009

By 

Lori Calabrese "Children's Books Examiner... (Connecticut, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Nic Bishop Spiders (Sibert Honor Book) (Hardcover)

"It is easy to think that photography is fast. After all, you press the shutter button and the photograph is completed in 1/100th of a second. But it is all the planning and preparation beforehand that takes the time." --Nic Bishop

Imagine snapping a picture of a jumping spider, leaping from one rock to the next. Obviously this is something that happens very fast, so it takes a lot of work to get the picture just right. You have to visit Nic Bishop's website to find out the unusual techniques he uses to capture events like this for his award-winning nature books. But it's because of his unusual techniques that his nature books stand out.

Look closely at the pictures in a Nic Bishop book, and you'll find that the details are mesmerizing. In Nic Bishop: Spiders, you can literally count the hairs on a tarantula, see the invisible spider webs one usually walks through, and read all about the gruesomeness that seems to follow spiders wherever they go. Spider lovers will enjoy learning how spiders spin webs, turn their prey's insides into soup, and how a spider uses its pedipalps, or two short arms to hold its prey. Meanwhile, spider haters will have their arm hairs standing on end! Bishop studied and photographed more than a dozen types of spiders for this book from the largest known as the Goliath birdeater tarantula from South America to ones that he raised in his home. He captures rare occurrences like molting, courting, and egg-laying.