Customer Reviews

Diary of a Spider

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Doreen Cronin has penned another wonderful "diary." Like her "Diary of a Worm" Cronin has interwoven facts with whimsy. We learn that spiders are NOT insects and they molt. Spider is friends with Worm from the previous book and also with Fly although his Grampa says in HIS day spiders and flies did not get along.

In school young spiders are warned about the dangers of vacuums and have vacuum drills.

He says, "If we hear a vacuum we should "Stop, Drop and Run!"

When they say the Pledge of Allegiance, their flag is a panel from a Spiderman comic book showing the American flag. In many ways Spider's day is like any kid's with a sleep-over and time with friends.

The clever illustrations by Henry Bliss add additional humor. As in "Diary of a Worm," the endpapers are full of great vignettes,such as, "Favorite book: Charlotte's Web."

This book is a natural pick for elementary school libraries and teacher gifts. The two diaries would also be a "must-have" for junior high libraries to complement life science units. My former students tell me they are never read to in junior high. Class periods are only about 50 minutes long so Cronin's books would fit perfectly and work well with any curriculum.

Her humor is simple yet savvy and has appeal for all ages. Her "Duck for President" is essential during presidential election years.

After reading this book I will NEVER forget that spiders are NOT insects. There is so much to see in the pictures and the text is so entertaining you will want to read it again and again.

We love Doreen Cronin's books in our house and this did not disappoint us. We love the illustrations and the story. The kids thought the wisdom shared between the two spiders could be used in their lives as well. Easy for preschoolers to follow and enjoy reading over again.

This is a funny story but a bit long for my 5 and 6 year olds. I enjoyed it and maybe in a year they will be able to appreciate and understand it a bit more.

A fun book allowing the reader to examine life from the perspective of a spider ... great illustrations with catchy phrases keep the child engaged - while entertaining the adult reader! Check out Diary of a Worm for more laughs!

My 3 year old son, being an avid spider lover, just loved this book. It contains both humor and simple facts about spiders and their way of life. Written very much like the Diary of the Worm... we found the Spider diary more entertaining and humous. The pics are great too!

I love that I can read this book to my 3-year-old and get enjoyment out of it. Much like a disney movie, there are themes in the story that are too mature for my 3-year-old, but are extremely funny to me; however, by the end of the story, we both end up laughing.

funny and lively--enjoyed by both the 7 and 3 year old. the pictures are "laugh out loud" humor even adults can enjoy

Diary of a Spider goes a long way to help young ones discover the golden rule that you cannot always judge things by one encounter. In many ways, it goes to the core problem of generalizations and stereotypes of all types. Because it lets the reader discover the good and bad side of things for themselves, it teaches very important life lessons. In a recent story session with a group of preschoolers, I read Diary of a Spider and The Little Prince and His Magic Wand. The children were enthralled by both stories, each having its own uplifting message. I highly recommend both of these stories for kindergarten ages.

Diary of a Worm

This astonishing book is amazingly amazing! It is just like a diary. There is voice, dialogue, personification, and it is a real mind- sweeper! I read it almost every time that I'm available. It¡s really an appropriate book for ages three to ten. Well that¡s the ages I'm agreeing with. We read this book in class and it was really fun. In this story the worm has a friendship with a spider and then sometimes they fight. There are some lessons that you can learn in this story. This book is amazingly amazing!

By Samantha P. and Bianca C.

This book is even better than Diary of a Worm! The facts are great and the story is cute. Good for any primary grade.