NOTHING SCARES SPIDER! is a story about bravery, friendship, support and a big adventure. It’s a great story to read in autumn when we often find more spiders in our homes.
Even those readers who are afraid of spiders will love the main character, Spider, who is fearless and independent. She’s also a little naive and doesn’t realise how close she comes to danger as she goes off to explore the garden on her own…
The Story: Spider decides to explore the Whole Wide Garden and tells her worried friends that they can contact her but only in an emergency. Spider is called back several times and starts to get cross with her friends for being scared. But then Spider also discovers how it feels to be really scared…
Caterpillar, Ladybird, and Bumble Bee are worried about who will protect them while Spider is gone so she leaves a web thread that can be pulled to call her back if they need her. Almost immediately they call her back for what is not really an emergency so Spider leaves again. Spider is constantly pulled back to solve minor problems but doesn’t realise that every time one of her friends pulls the thread they are saving her from danger! But the last tug on the thread pulls them into a real emergency and they must find a way to work together to save themselves from The Frightening Frog…
Spider is brave enough to go out on her own and try new things but she doesn’t forget about her friends. She responds to every single ’emergency’ despite that fact that she gets a little frustrated. But by the end of the story she acknowledges that even she gets scared sometimes and facing fears is easier when you have supportive friends.
We love Carly Gledhill’s brightly coloured illustrations which add humour to the text. We’re not specifically told of the danger that Spider is in but it’s very obvious from the illustrations and this gives the reader an advantage over the main character as they know more than she does!
The insects and animals are adorable, we particularly like the colourful caterpillar and we love Spider’s different coloured boots and the spotty toadstools!
NOTHING SCARES SPIDER! is an imaginative and engaging story with a colourful cast of characters. We love the way that the the friends all support each other through adversity and the way that the reader often knows more than the main character!
Author: S Marendaz / Illustrator: Carly Gledhill
Thank you to Little Tiger for sending a copy of NOTHING SCARES SPIDER! She’s a cute character that even those readers who don’t like spiders will connect to.
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