From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 1-A revised and newly illustrated version of a story published in 1982, illustrated by Joe Lasker. An old Bavarian woman does her annual cleaning and then invites children and animals in to admire her beautifully decorated Christmas tree and eat goodies. Only the spiders, which are ushered outside every year, miss out on the festivities, so Kriss Kringle (Christkindel in the earlier edition) lets them into Tante's house as he passes by, and they leave cobwebs all over the tree, which he then transforms into silver and gold-the first tinsel. Climo explains in a note in this edition that the story is based on a folktale whose roots go back more than 200 years. The modest text revisions result in a trimmer, more succinct story, while the new illustrations (still retaining a folkloric, old-fashioned quality) and larger format enhance the book's use in group storytime. Libraries owning the earlier edition will want to keep it while adding this welcome new interpretation of the appealing story.
E. M. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
About the Author
Shirley Climo's love of folklore began in her childhood and has provided the background for many of her children's books, such as
The Korean Cinderella, Magic & Mischief: Tales from Cornwall, A Treasury of Princesses: Princess Tales from Around the World, A Treasury of Mermaids: Mermaid Tales from Around the World, and
Someone Saw a Spider: Spider Facts and Folktales, an NCTE Teacher's Choice and Library of Congress Best Children's Book that was originally inspired by her research for
Cobweb Christmas. Mrs. Climo and her husband live in Los Altos, California.
In Her Own Words...
"To write children's books always seemed the most wonderful goal in the world to me-and the most natural. My earliest memories are of being rocked in a creaky wicker swing while my mother, a children's book author, tried out various versions of her stories. Long before I could read, I'd begun telling my own tales to anyone willing to listen.
"I grew up, raised three children, a half dozen dogs, a clutch of cats, a horse, and a straggle of chickens. Each new addition provided story-telling material, and many two-legged and four-legged household members found their way into print. Even more important, I found that writing for young people was every bit as wonderful as I had hoped.
"My first book was Piskies, Spriggans and Other Magical Beings, a collection of folklore. My latest book is a revised and newly illustrated edition of Cobweb Christmas. Like the tradition of tinsel itself, the story of the spider's Christmas has become a part of holiday celebrations around the world. Its message of kindness to animals is as fresh today as it was when Cobweb Christmas was first told in Germany over two hundred years ago. In the twenty years between those two books, I've written picture books for the just-in-school set, chapter books for primary readers, story collections and nonfiction for middle grades, novels for preteens, and four retellings of the Cinderella theme -- Egyptian, Korean, Irish, and Persian. I seldom stray very far or for very long from the favorite folktales of my childhood.
"A century ago, folklorist Andrew Lang said, "Nobody can write a new fairy tale; you can only mix up the old stories and put the characters into new dresses."
"For me, playing dress-up is fun at any age. "
