Outside And Inside Spiders - Softcover

Markle, Sandra

Softcover

ISBN 10: 068983120X ISBN 13: 9780689831201

Publisher: Aladdin, 1999

Synopsis

An award-winning science writer looks at the world of spiders, answering questions such as how spiders spin their webs, where they lay their eggs, how they stay safe, and how spiders are different from other insects. Reprint.

About this title

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6-This beautifully illustrated introduction offers some new insights into the subject. The text briefly describes the major physical characteristics of spiders; their senses; diet; hunting and feeding techniques; courting, mating, and egg-laying behavior; and the birth and care of the young. Special attributes of 13 species are also mentioned. Succinctly written, this title offers more detail on body functions than is currently available in other books. It also includes some interesting tidbits of information. A definite weakness, however, is the sparsity of scientific terms. When describing the silk-producing glands in a spider's abdomen, "spinnerets," the text simply refers to them as spigots. Sharp, full-color photographs accompany the text on almost every page. Closeup shots of a poison sac, lung, and heart of a dissected tarantula as well as enlargements of spider hairs, claws, and stomach tissue are of particular interest. The average sizes of species discussed are not given, but the photo credits include their degree of magnification. Claudia Schnieper's Amazing Spiders (Carolrhoda, 1989) and Jennifer Dewey's Spiders Near and Far (Dutton, 1993) also contain excellent illustrations, and both have useful diagrams; they employ more scientific terms and describe the behavior of a greater number of species. Still, despite its flaws, Outside and Inside Spiders, with its special emphasis on anatomy and its splendid photographs, will make a useful purchase.
Karey Wehner, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Intriguing color photos coupled with odd facts: e.g., spiders can make seven different kinds of silk, for which they use special spigots in their tail end (a magnified photo of a black widow spider's rear shows the spigots' different shapes); a spider's muscles can only pull its legs toward its body, so the spider must pump special body fluids into them to extend them. Spiders' lungs, heart, fangs, and foot claws are all viewed in dramatic closeups, and Markle also describes how they move, eat, molt, build webs and raise young (but doesn't include sizes or scientific names). Not definitive--Gail Gibbons's Spiders (1993), though written for younger readers, does a better job of describing how an orb spider builds its web--but browsers will be engaged by the novel information and revealing photographic enlargements. Brief glossary/index. (Nonfiction. 9-12) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Aladdin
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 068983120X
• ISBN 13: 9780689831201
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 40