SPIDERS!

A visually arresting design scheme and stunning, high-quality photographs captivate the reader in this fluency-level entry for “confident readers” in the new TIME for Kids Science Scoops series. Engaging design elements include a variety of colored typefaces for chapter titles and heads, brightly colored diagrams and fact boxes and a coordinating photographic border at the top of each page to delineate chapter changes. The text is written in simple, clear language and covers basic anatomy, reproduction, webs, prey and behavior. A short interview with a spider expert is included, along with a glossary of terms. Classroom teachers will find this useful for beginning research reports, for classroom reading groups and for independent reading, and the volume will also serve younger children well as an introduction to spiders. Kids who like insects will be entranced by the photographs, and even children who don’t like spiders may find this an effective antidote to arachnophobia. (Easy reader/nonfiction. 5-7)