Very Busy Spider plus (Hardcover)

by Eric Carle (Author) "Early one morning the spider across the field..." (more)

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 the 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 the Board book edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 1 pages
• Publisher: Philomel (June 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399230149
• ISBN-13: 978-0399230141
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 9.5 x 2.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,641,845 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Terrific for toddlers, March 27, 2000

By	"fairfieldann" (Fairfield, Connecticut United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Very Busy Spider (Board Book) (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!

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully illustrated story for young children., July 10, 2000

By	"charlie4" (St. Thomas, VI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Very Busy Spider (Board Book) (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.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a beautifully spun tale!, August 22, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Very Busy Spider (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.