Red Spider Hero
Red Spider Hero
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Written by John Miller
Illustrated by Giuliano Cucco
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2015
On a small piece of sidewalk, there once lived a teeming colony of teeny tiny red spiders. These spiders were so tiny that when it rained they never got wet and when people stepped on them they never got squashed.
Even so, they were all quite content living there on the same patch of sidewalk. All except one little spider, who decided that he'd had enough and that the big, wide world was far more suited to him than a teeny tiny strip of sidewalk. So he stamped his feet and hollered and said he would run away. Seeing the little red spider's frustration, his grandfather stepped forward to explore the situation with his grandson and together, in a wonderful shared moment of conversation and imagination, the little red spider succeeds in going off on the grandest adventure ever!
The book's back matter includes a nonfiction section with photos about red ants.
ISBN: 978-1-59270-176-6
9.5" (W) x 11.5" (H) • 40 pages • HCJ
AWARDS AND REVIEWS
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2015
★ " ...this tale won't burn out, nor will Cucco's illustrations, with their M&M colors and their shared aesthetic with William Steig, Jules Feiffer, and Quentin Blake. Just so, a story that celebrates the dreams of even the smallest of us—the really, really smallest." —STARRED REVIEW, Kirkus Reviews
"John Miller's Red Spider Hero was written more than 50 years ago, but its appeal is timeless. Harry's desire to be something bigger, something grander than his very small self won't be lost on young readers." —Karin Snelson, Shelf Awareness
"...[an] amiable story of the limits of youthful ambition. Giuliano Cucco’s black lines and deep shades of watercolor make the illustrations a glowing affair in this collaboration by the creators of 2014’s Winston & George." —Meghan Cox Gurdon, The Wall Street Journal
”Cucco’s bright and quirky illustrations play cleverly with perspective, emphasizing Harry’s small stature in the vast world, while painting elaborate and imaginative settings for the tiny mite’s big dreams. Dragonflies, dandelion puffs, and well-armored articulated flea bodies are boldly drawn and richly colored. … This intergenerational tale is a journey of the imagination. Even little spider mite children dream big dreams, and young listeners will identify with the need to feel special and powerful in a world that can seem vast and overwhelming. As a nice final touch, original photographs of actual spider mites, covered in pollen and posed by a dime, close the book with praise for children who are likely to notice and appreciate the little things in life.” —Cathy Ballou Mealey, Good Reads With Ronna