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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Amity Public Library | E KIRK | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Newberg Public Library | FAVORITES KIRK | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
True love blooms for the enticing arachnid in her second adventure. "Bold and vibrant colours plunge readers into a dreamy, fragrant springtime, where all manner of insects and flowers mingle in a blooming world." - Kirkus Reviews
Author Notes
The uncommonly unique imagination of David Kirk has an equally uncommon source. "I found a small copy of The Gnomes' Almanac by a little-known Viennese author Ida Bohtta Morpugo. It was a cutout book simply subtitled: A Book for Children. In it, the pictures and verse about bugs, butterflies, and mice really came to life." That got him drawing and writing. Before that he made children's toys by hand. "I love making stories. The bookmaking process is a liberation for me from the years I toiled to produce handmade items. I think the life of a children's book author is bliss." Kirk lives in upstate New York, with his wife and three daughters.For more information about David Kirk, visit: scholastic.com/tradebooks
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2Miss Spider, of Miss Spider's Tea Party (Scholastic, 1994), falls for Holley, an unprepossessing male spider. Her friend, May the beetle, feels she deserves better (``That pantywaist will never do'') and sets her up with handsome Spiderus Reeves, who turns out to be a cad. True love triumphs, though, and Miss Spider and Holley wed. All this is told in a long, ponderous, rhyming text that robs the story of any inherent interest it might have for children. Kirk's air-brushed artwork is extraordinary. His large-eyed, brilliantly colored insects have a 3-D quality. Spiderus Reeves, with the humanized face of a distorted harlequin, has a truly malevolent appearance. Yet the level of visual sophistication and suggestion of seductive evil is out of proportion to the cartoon innocence of the other characters. This makes him a singularly disquieting figuremore than just a villian to be vanquished: a personification of evil. Children may be attracted to the cover showing a smiling Miss Spider gazing shyly through her spider-web veil, but overall the book is flawed.Karen James, Louisville Free Public Library, KY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Fresh from entertaining her insect neighbors in the bestselling Miss Spider's Tea Party, Miss Spider the arachnid ingenue prepares to scuttle down the aisle in this sequel. Essentially this offering is more of same-admirers of Kirk's unique illustrations, with their jujube-colored palette, fever-dream characters and 3D-style compositions, will be happily snared. If anything the colors are even more intense, dominated by rich autumnal tones and highlighted by deep indigos. The verse, however, is just as protracted as in Tea Party, and there's more of it-from an overlong string of mostly singsongy quatrains Kirk weaves a tangled tale of young spider love, a villainous suitor who attempts to do away with Miss Spider's intended, a rescue and, finally, nuptials (``With crickets fiddling in full swing,/ The katydids begin to sing./ June beetles spin in pirouettes,/ And clickbugs clack like castanets''). All ages. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
In a rather sophisticated rhyming story, Miss Spider falls in love with a small, shy spider called Holley. However, the sinister Spiderus Reeves wants to marry her himself, and Miss Spider must rescue the bespectacled Holley from his clutches. Despite its clever verses and distinctive, brightly colored illustrations, the book's luridly frightening depiction of Spiderus will limit the audience. From HORN BOOK 1995, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
On the heels of Miss Spider's Tea Party (1994) comes word of the arachnid's wedding. The story of Miss Spider's courtship, her meeting of her one true love, and subsequent run-in with a smarmy would-be suitor is told in verse that has a Victorian ring. Unfortunately, the poem occasionally loses momentum and becomes hard to follow; it contains no repetitive patterns or phrases to draw readers along. But the antiquated tone adds to the secret world of the paintings. These tell the tale even without any words--they are suffused with warmth and encrusted with hidden visual jewels. Their bold and vibrant colors plunge readers into a dreamy, fragrant springtime, where all manner of insects and flowers mingle in a blooming world. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Ages 5^-9. Beetle Ike, from Miss Spider's Tea Party [BKL Ja 1 94], introduces Miss Spider to his friend Holley. Miss Spider thinks puny, bespectacled Holley seems like "Mr. Right," but her friend May, horrified that Miss Spider would settle for "that pantywaist," searches for a finer suitor. Handsome Spiderus Reeves seems a good possibility, but his villainous nature comes out when Miss Spider turns him down. There's a happy ending (Miss Spider makes a lovely bride in her spider-web veil), but only after some scary scenes of the ghastly, jagged-toothed Reeves bearing down on Holley. Kirk's oil paintings shine with color, and his verse never stumbles. But his earlier book was far more suited to children, with things to count and a theme of friendship. This sequel, with its romantic story, satirical tone, and longer text filled with wordplay ("co-webitation," etc.), seems pitched to an adult audience. --Susan Dove Lempke