Spinning Spiders (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) [Paperback]

Melvin Berger (Author), S. D. Schindler (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up | Series: Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2

Find out all about the many kinds of webs spiders spin in this level 2 Let′s Read and Find Out.

How do spiders spin such large webs? Spiders produce a unique silk that can stretch from wall to wall, or between the legs of a chair. In this book, featuring remarkably realistic artwork by S.D. Schindler, you will learn about the silk spiders produce, the webs they spin, and the prey they capture. You will even learn how to make a web of your own!

Ages 5-9

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 4-In a clear, easy-to-read style, Berger discusses how arachnids differ from insects, how they catch and eat their prey, and how webs protect them from their enemies. Five different types of spiders are included, along with information about how they create and utilize their unique webs. Detailed, full-color illustrations, often on spreads, highlight the well-organized text. Close-up scenes of these creatures at work capture the delicacy and beauty of their amazing creations. Pertinent Web sites and directions for mounting and preserving a web without harming a spider are appended. A lively and interesting look at a popular subject.
Doris Losey, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library, Tampa, FL
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Melvin Berger is the author of many classic LRFOs, including Germs Make Me Sick!, Oil Spills! and Why I Cough, Sneeze, Shiver, Hiccup, and Yawn, as well as other nonfiction on the Harper backlist. He lives in East Hampton, NY.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Paperback: 40 pages
• Publisher: Collins; 1 edition (May 6, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0064452077
• ISBN-13: 978-0064452076
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 10 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #421,438 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #88 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Animals > Bugs & Spiders > Nonfiction

More About the Author

Prize-winning author, Melvin Berger, believes that science should always be fun. In his books - he has written over 200! - and in his talks to young people, he stresses the excitement of science and the thrill of scientific discovery.

He also believes in a hands-on approach to science for young people. Many of his books are full of interesting, informative, and easy-to-do activities and experiments.

His great enthusiasm for science spills over into Mr. Berger's hobby of collecting old scientific instruments. In his collection is everything from 18th century microscopes to an ancient chinese opium balance.

Born and raised in New York City, Mr. Berger has earned degrees from the University of Rochester, Columbia University, and London (England) University. In 1983, he was elected to the New York Academy of Sciences. Over the years he has won awards from the Children's book Council, National Science Teachers Association, Child Study Association, Library of Congress, and New York Public Library. He lives in New York City and East Hampton, New York, with his wife, Gilda, who is also an author.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DELIGHTFUL AND INFORMATIVE!, March 3, 2009

By 

Elaine Campbell "Desert Dweller" (Rancho Mirage, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Spinning Spiders (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) (Paperback)

This book will be very pleasing to children. The illustrations, by S.D. Schindler, are clear and colorful. The text itself is simply put, but is packed full of spider information. I did not know about the different kinds of webs that spiders spin - a great variety. I did not know that there are more than 30,000 kinds of spiders. I did not know that the spider's "solid thread of silk" is first a liquid that comes out of spinnerets, then it hardens and becomes very sticky, making it easy to entrap insects. And this silk thread can "stretch almost twice its length."

I really did not know spiders, and I've seen them all my life. They are very complex and intricate, and now I look at them with new eyes. Eyes of wonder and awe.

The author points out that while people fear spiders, spiders rarely injure people. In the United States, only two kinds of spiders can bite a human being, but they are both very shy and usually run if a human draws close.

This book is really a gem. A wonderful way to introduce any child, or an adult-child, to the wonders of spinning spiders.