The Spider and the Fly
Based on the contemporary tale by Mary Howitt
Written and Illustrated by Tony Diterlizzi
Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, 2002
Fiction
40 Pages
The Spider and the Fly is a winner of the Caldecott award. It's a story based on the contemporary tale by Mary Howitt. It tells the story of spider coercing a fly. This is a particular oddity because few tragedies are written for elementary age children. The art is dark and absolutely stunning. I love how reading it was kind of like watching a Tim Burton movie; it had that same feel. I loved how the characters expressions were so over dramatized. The Illustrator and gave the fly and the spider this kind of 1920s style that stood out in the clothing and the decor.
I can see why this story won a Caldecott; the illustrations were superb and extremely detailed. My favorite part of the story is the letter from the spider in the end to the reader explaining why the story is a tragedy. He refers to Charlotte's Web and says that the spider should have eaten the pig.
No comments:
Post a Comment