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The Very Busy Spider [Hardcover]

Eric Carle
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (113 customer reviews)

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Book Description

March 15, 1989 1 - 6 years
"A beautifully executed work for the very young that satisfies the needs of both visually handicapped and sighted children without losing its artistic integrity."
-The Horn Book, starred review.
"Both sighted and blind children will follow the action with ease . . . Visually and verbally, this is a winner."
-Booklist, starred review.

Frequently Bought Together

The Very Busy Spider + The Very Hungry Caterpillar: mini book
Price for both: $11.68

Buy the selected items together


Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Every young child should be introduced to this story, as great a classic as its predecessor, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. This colorful picture book describes a spider's day. Blown onto a farmyard fence, she starts to spin a web. The other animals ask if she wants to play, but in every case "the spider didn't answer. She was very busy spinning her web." The book is touchable: elements including the strands of web are embossed on the pages and you can follow them with your fingertips. But the best thing by far is Carle's familiar, yet still breathtaking skill as an illustrator. Especially in this large 11.5-by-8.5-inch format, his cow, goat, and dog (just to mention three favorites) capture the essence of each animal in a way few artists can hope to approach. (Baby to preschool) --Richard Farr --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Mice, a rottweiler, an arachnid and a few other assorted critters make sturdy reappearances in five board book versions of picture books. In Ellen Stoll Walsh's Mouse Paint, "three white mice on a white piece of paper" enjoy a colorful romp, while in Walsh's Mouse Count a similar gaggle narrowly escapes being served for dinner (Harcourt/Red Wagon, $6 each, 28p, ages 1-3 ISBN 0-15-200265-0; -200266-9 Sept.). Yet another mouse searches the animal kingdom for companionship?and finds an unexpected respondent?in Eric Carle's Do You Want to Be My Friend? (HarperFestival, $6.95, 32p, ages 2-6, ISBN 0-694-00709-9 Sept.). The rewards of industriousness are celebrated in a second Carle title, The Very Busy Spider; its embossed web brings a tactile dimension to his familiar collage artwork (Philomel, $9.95, 26p, ages 2-up ISBN 0-399-22919-1 Aug.). Finally, the canine in question is Alexandra Day's beloved Carl, who takes charge of a crew of toddlers in Carl Goes to Day Care (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $5.95, ages 1-3 ISBN 0-374-31145-5 Sept.).
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Age Range: 1 - 6 years
  • Hardcover: 24 pages
  • Publisher: Philomel; Miniature edition (March 15, 1989)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0399215921
  • ISBN-13: 978-0399215926
  • Product Dimensions: 3.8 x 5.1 x 0.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (113 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,087 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Eric Carle is acclaimed and beloved as the creator of brilliantly illustrated and innovatively designed picture books for young children.


Eric was born in Syracuse, New York, in 1929, and moved with his parents to Germany when he was six years old. After graduating from art school, he returned to America, the land of his happiest childhood memories, and found work as a graphic designer.


After seeing an advertisement designed by Eric, respected educator and author, Bill Martin Jr, called to ask him to illustrate a story he had written. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, with its distinctive collage style, was the result of their collaboration. This favorite was the beginning of Eric Carle's true career. Soon Eric was writing his own stories, developing a close bond with Ann Beneduce, the founder of Philomel Books, who would be his editor for nearly 40 years. In 1969 they published the celebrated classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which has eaten its way into the hearts of literally millions of children all over the world and has been translated into more than 30 languages. Since this beginning, Eric Carle has illustrated more than seventy books, many best sellers, most of which he also wrote.


The secret of Eric Carle's books' appeal lies in his intuitive understanding of and respect for children, who sense in him instinctively someone who shares their most cherished thoughts and emotions. He says "I believe the passage from home to school is the second biggest trauma of childhood; the first is, of course, being born.
Indeed, in both cases we leave a place of warmth and protection for one that is unknown. The unknown often brings fear with it. In my books I try to counteract this fear, to replace it with a positive message. I believe that children are naturally creative and eager to learn. I want to show them that learning is really both fascinating and fun."


Eric Carle has two grown-up children, a son and a daughter. He and his wife Barbara divide their time between Massachusetts and Florida.

Customer Reviews

It is not the nice sized board book we know and love. A. Neff  |  15 reviewers made a similar statement
I returned it and plan to use my refund to get the board book version. K. Slaback  |  5 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
52 of 52 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Terrific for toddlers March 27, 2000
Format:Board book
My two-year-old and I love this book. It's about a spider who blows in, lands on a fence post, and spends the entire day building a web. She keeps working as various animals tempt her to do other things. At the end of the day, she catches a fly in her web and then falls asleep, tuckered out from her busy day. This book has several things going for it. First, it is a very simple narrative, making it one of the first stories that your child will be able to understand. Second, it is repetitive. Toddlers LOVE repetition and it is good for them. It helps them stay focused on the story, and gives them a chance to "read" something themselves, because they will naturally recite the repetitive bits as you come to them. Last of all, this book has several animals and the noises they make--very important for that fund of knowledge you are building. Oh, and I forgot the kicker: The spider web is made of some sort of 3D glue, making it tactile. My son loves running his fingers along it. I would have given this book 5 stars, but I love Carle's THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR even more!
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully illustrated story for young children. July 10, 2000
Format:Board book
I love this story of the determined spider who is blown on a fence and begins to weave her web, too busy to play with the other animals. She catches her fly at the end. The typical farm animals are represented and young children will be able to identify the animals by the pictures and can make the noises of the animals portrayed. The web can be felt with the fingertips, although my son was never and is still not impressed with this feat, although his mother is. Eric Carle is a masterful illustrator and story teller. If you have never read his books to young children and seen the fascination of a 2 year old sitting and waiting for the page to be turned, you are missing out. He does not have one bad book. His illustrations are stunning. We have a LOT of books at our house and this one is chosen at least once a week for a bedtime story. Highly highly recommended.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars a beautifully spun tale! August 22, 2001
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
what an amazing book. as usual, eric carle's illustrations are outstanding, and the text is simplistic and includes animals that all children can identify with. the story features a spider who gets blown onto a fence post located on a farm. there she begins to spin her web (which is embossed on the page and allows the child to feel the story)and is tempted by many of the farm animals to stop. she however, continues to busily craft her magnificent web in the end catching her fly and falling fast asleep. the book is so perfect for toddlers that my two year old can now read the book to me! this is a must have for any child's library.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars TINY TINY BOOK!!!
I really wish that I had read more of the reviews but .....its a book.... who makes a kids book that small???? Ughhhh at least it was cheap.
Published 1 day ago by Grrrrrr
5.0 out of 5 stars Interactive
My 20 month old loves lift a flap books. They are very interactive and makes her want to sit through a book rather than just reading alone. Eric Carle always does a great job!
Published 8 days ago by Nate Sahl
2.0 out of 5 stars tiny
I love the story, but this particular book is tiny. I guess I didn't realize when I placed my order how small it was. I wanted the hardback large version ...
Published 8 days ago by Helen C Hughes
5.0 out of 5 stars cute
You won't use it for long, but all of his books are good for young kids learning the basic skills.
Published 20 days ago by IML
3.0 out of 5 stars Books
The books are smaller than I expected. I thought they would be normal size and hard covered. However they were very small.
Published 28 days ago by no
5.0 out of 5 stars more Eric Carle
Glad to get so many of Eric Carle's books to start our baby's library with wonderful, colorful and interesting books.
Published 1 month ago by Martha W. Fowler
1.0 out of 5 stars Too small for a toddler to enjoy
My son LOVES this story but this book is too small for him to enjoy. I would recommend buying a larger version.
Published 1 month ago by LP
3.0 out of 5 stars not his best work
my version's pages are tufted together in pairs, which makes for an awkward feel. some kids books just repeat the same line over and over while changing a few words each page. Read more
Published 1 month ago by thecheese
5.0 out of 5 stars She Loves Spiders!
I bought this book on recommendation from a friend, and around that same time my 18 month old daughter learned "Itsy Bitsy Spider" which is now her favorite song/rhyme. Read more
Published 1 month ago by NavyWifeLovesLife
5.0 out of 5 stars The Very Busy Spider
Given as a Christmas present to my twin grandsons. Have had the story read to them over and over. Love the durability of the board book.
Published 1 month ago by Jayne
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