Aaaarrrgghh! Spider!

I was drawn to a couple books at Borders this weekend. I wanted to purchase 10 but limited myself to two. I knew llama llama mad at mama was a must have after reading about it at A Year of Reading. My class loved the first book llama llama red pajama and I can't wait to read Mad at Mama tomorrow.

I also purchased a book called Aaaarrgghh! Spider! I was drawn to the cover which has a glittery web from which a spider, the main character in the story, hangs. I opened the book up immediately was happy to find the story is told by the spider. I also loved the pictures and so did my own children. We found ourselves looking for the "real" pictures within the cartoon type drawings. It reminded me a bit of the illustrating techniques used by Doreen Cronin (Bounce) and Mo Willems (Knufflebunny). The first page spread appears upside down as the spider sits on the ceiling explaining how he wants to be a real family pet. The spider tries what he thinks are clever ways to demonstrate he would make a great family pet. Each time he appears in a new part of the house, the family screams "Aaaarrgghh! Spider! Out you go!" The little girl in the story finally notices the sparkly webs the spider resorts to making in the backyard and the family adopts him for a pet. This is where I felt the story lost me a bit. The spider becomes a real pet and goes everywhere with the family. I did come back to enjoy the ending when the spider feels such a part of the family he invites in all his friends inside and the story ends similarly to how it begins with "Aaaarrgghh! Spiders!