The Deadlies: Felix Takes the Stage [Hardcover]

Kathryn Lasky (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up | Series: The Deadlies

Bestselling author Kathryn Lasky writes for the chapter-book set!

The Deadlies are like any other family with a loving mother and bright, rambunctious children. Except they're spiders. Really, really poisonous ones. But Edith and her children are kind and cultured. In fact, the Deadlies had been happily living in a symphony hall until Edith's son, Felix, had a . . . misunderstanding with the maestro. Now they're on the hunt for a new home. That is, if they can outwit the overzealous arachnologists and evil exterminators on their tail. Will they ever find a place to live in peace?

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The first volume in the Deadlies series introduces young Felix and his family of recluse spiders. A lover of the arts whose recklessness brings about the loss of a leg (later regenerated) and the collapse of a beloved conductor, Felix lives with his mother and two sisters beneath the stage of the philharmonic hall in Los Angeles, where they are protected by a theater cat known as Fatty. Soon fleeing the exterminator, they move into a nearby shop before taking a cross-country bus to their new home, the Boston Public Library. The fact that recluse spiders are venomous (as the series title suggests) lends an edge to the story of this little arachnid family. Although the final art was not seen, Gilpin’s many drawings have plenty of energy, action, and easy-to-read emotional content. This nicely designed chapter book features appealing characters facing dangers with courage but searching for something more in their lives than either swashbuckling adventure or cozy domesticity. Grades 2-4. --Carolyn Phelan

Review

From Kirkus:

"Humor and action seamlessly blend as these arachnids struggle for survival . . . Vivid characters, from the theatrical godspider Fat Cat to the pompous orb weaver Oliphant Uxbridge, make up the clever supporting cast. Genuinely funny dialogue helps move the brief chapters along, and Gilpin's lively black-and-white drawings provide an animated accompaniment."

From Booklist:

"Gilpin’s many drawings have plenty of energy, action, and easy-to-read emotional content. This nicely designed chapter book features appealing characters facing dangers with courage but searching for something more in their lives than either swashbuckling adventure or cozy domesticity."

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press; 1 edition (May 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0545116813
• ISBN-13: 978-0545116817
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 6.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,080,926 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun Spider Family Story for 7-10 year olds, December 1, 2011

By 

Nicola Manning (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Deadlies: Felix Takes the Stage (Paperback)

Reason for Reading: I enjoy the author's books and animal fantasy.

This is a cute, funny book filled with lots of interesting information on brown recluse spiders and spiders in general. The Deadlies, a family of brown recluse spiders minus a dad, live in the basement of a philharmonic hall. The mother is very strict that the kids keep themselves hidden as their venomous nature scares humans so much that even the sight of them will bring in the dreaded E-Men to exterminate them all; something the mother has lived through in the past. But Felix is different from the others, he loves the music and has an artistic bent. He finds himself pulled towards the stage at night when the conductor is working there alone at night but of course the dreaded thing finally happens one night and he is seen. Within hours the exterminators arrive and the Deadlies are on the run to find a new home. They temporarily find shelter next door at an old antiques store but head off to the Boston Public Library where the mother lived with her own mother before she passed away.

A fun, exciting story that any animal fantasy fan will be sure to enjoy. Written for a younger crowd than Lasky usually writes for, the story is more humour and adventure based with little fantasy other than the world in which spiders can talk. They have themselves a great sidekick in Fatty the Cat, the theatre's backstage cat who is the children's godspider and accompanies them on their journey. A silly, fun story that doesn't resort to any gross spider facts but instead opens up an entertaining world of spider facts that will fascinate boys and girls alike. I look forward to reading the next book in the series: Spiders on the Case.

5.0 out of 5 stars Trouble begins when Felix Deadly tries to meet his human hero, only to have him faint from fright, October 21, 2010

By 

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

This review is from: The Deadlies: Felix Takes the Stage (Hardcover)

Kathryn Lasky's THE DEADLIES: FELIX TAKES THE STAGE receives Stephen Gilpin's fine drawings as it tells of a nice family of polite spiders - who happen to be toxic. It's not their fault but the humans near them just don't understand. Trouble begins when Felix Deadly tries to meet his human hero, only to have him faint from fright. A fine story of misunderstanding evolves.

4.0 out of 5 stars Felix has alot to learn., June 17, 2010

By 

Booktoo "Booktoo" (Cambridge , MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Deadlies: Felix Takes the Stage (Hardcover)

Felix and his family, of brown recluse spiders, overcome obstacles & exterminators in their adventurous search for a safe place to call home. The books is perfect for 3rd graders, it touches on history, science of arachnids and Greek mythology. Looking forward to the next installment.