Book post: The Spider and the Fly

Book cover from Simon & Schuster

Howitt, M. and DiTerlizzi, T. (2002). The spider and the fly. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

*Winner of a 2003 Caldecott Honor*

This treacherous poem of a cunning spider trying to trap an innocent fly was written by Mary Howitt in 1829, but is modernized somewhat by DiTerlizzi's illustrations. They are all black and white and silvery. The book has panels that are reminiscent of silent movie captions with growing spider webs in the background, and the characters have a 1920s style of dress. I love the look of this book, and think it could be used to teach about early film because of the setup of the pages. Students could create their own silent films using this as an example. It also has a strong rhythm and rhyme scheme and would be great for studying poetry. The story behind it warns children against listening to flattery, because we know what happens to the fly in the end.