Itsy-Bitsy Spiders....

April is national poetry month, so it’s only appropriate that I feature a book written in poetry. Or maybe it’s required… I seem to have misplaced my “rules for reviewing kid’s books”. And because I love critters with multiple jointed appendages, I present:

Spi-ku: A Clutter of Short Verse on Eight Legs 

by Leslie Bulion; illus. by Robert Meganck 

48 pages; ages 8-12 

Peachtree Publishing Company, 2021  

“From leafy treetop to forest floor …” and places in between and beyond, We Spy Spiders! Some are busy weaving webs, others riding silk balloons through the air, and yet others on the prowl. There are happy spiders, diving spiders, dancing spiders, and social spiders. 

So Many Spiders to love! Each spread features poems and information about the spiders. Things like how they kill and digest their prey, engage in foolery – and even how they become prey themselves. (I have not eaten any spiders so I cannot speak to how they taste…)

Leslie includes lots of wonderful Back Matter (and you know how I love back matter!). There’s a glossary, some spider identification notes and suggestions for further study. She also includes an activity: how to hunt for spiders at night. And she provides some notes on the poetic forms she uses. Here are four she highlights, with links so you can try writing some poems about spiders – or anything you want to write about – yourself:

• Haiku   
• Tanka  
• Dodoitsu   
• Cinquain   

A couple weeks ago Leslie and a bunch of us hung out at the GROG Blog to talk about why we love bugs. You can read what she said here. And you can learn more about Leslie and the fun books she writes at her website here.

Thanks for dropping by today. On Monday we'll be hanging out at Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers. It's over at Greg Pattridge's blog, Always in the Middle, so hop over to see what other people are reading. Review copy provided by the publisher.