The Spider and the Fly: A Wonderfully "horrible" Book that Appeals to All Ages!

Halloween brings back such wonderfully "horrible" memories for most children and I am no different! I was from an early age a huge fan of anything that left those "tingles" going down my spine and threatened to give me nightmares! This book is one of those tomes, and one that I am lucky enough to share with my children as well.

As creative story tellers of an old classic; Mary Howitt, Tony DiTerlizzi, do justice to an old classic with creative language and delightfully scary illustrations, which leave the reader, young and old with a thrill of anticipation and horror as to the anticipated fate of the gullible fly within the spider's lair.

I can clearly remember years ago setting in a circle in front of my Kindergarten teacher as she would bring the words of literally hundreds of books to life. Most of the titles of those books have sadly been forgotten, but this one has stayed strong and vivid in my memory!

The beautiful illustrations and the mixture of the sound of her voice and the story all woven together in a tapestry of magic for a beginning reader. I can't help but believe these moments helped to form the love of reading I have today.

And thus we come to the book at hand. This delightful (though somewhat macabre) version of the old story of the spider and the fly is written with such imagination and creativity that one can almost lose oneself in the story if not in the beautiful illustrations. I must be honest here and admit that I enjoy this book as much as my sons do and I am far from the "Halloween age" set!

In this book, the Spider is characterized as a suave, yet slick individual who tries to convince the shy, somewhat naive young fly to stay with him. And as naive young women are sometimes want to do, she agrees, much to her later dismay.

The dapper costumes that the spider sports and the fun filled roaring 20's flapper style of the fly, only further cement in the readers mind, the storyline and its believability to both the reader and the listener. The innocence of the fly and her flirting glances, personify this timid gal and make her ultimate doom more poignant to the reader.

Throughout this story the spider tries to convince the shy fly to linger with him, enticing her with endless luxuries and baubles galore. Though she is a good test for the spider, in the end I am sad to report, her trust proves to be her undoing.

When I speak of the illustrations, I should mention that they are done in a wonderfully antique looking black and white. The line drawings have wonderful depth and detail that to be quite honest would have been lessened if the illustrator had decided to use color. There is a richness and clarity in the illustrations that only black line drawings can provide and this book is an excellent example of such art.

The conclusion of this book is as expected and though a child's book, could possibly be disturbing for a very young child. The first time my now 9 year old son and I read this book, he was upset over the fate of the fly. The ending is indeed a hard thing for children to understand so I would advise parents to read the book through before purchasing it or reading it to your child. The maturity level of each child is different and you should be prepared for questions that might arise over the spider's fate.

But as the years go by and your child turns from a somewhat timid little thing himself, he will appreciate more and more the storyline and the artistic talent put into this book...and isn't that what defines true genius in the first place?...a book that spans the years of time to delight one generation after another!