The Itsy Bitsy Spider (Board Book)

I love this book so much, I'm making a point to write a review -- something I rarely do. The drawings are so beautiful and *detailed*. Following the little spider's story is even fun for me, night after night, because I always see something new in the pictures. The age-old story is interesting the way the author re-tells it, and her rhymes are terrific and not at all forced (unlike some other re-imaginings of this tale). This is my most favorite book to read to my 2-year-old. I would recommend it to anyone, and would definitely give it as a gift.

My daughter grew to really like me singing to her from this book when she was 17 months. Got the book from the library, ended up renewing it till we couldn't renew any more, and had to buy one. She loved looking for the spider on every page, and it was great fun singing more than the usual lines to her, about spider's pursuits. The best part was the end, when the "itsy bitsy spider rested in the sun" (the picture of the spider resting on its laurels wearing shades was so cool), and I taught my daughter to emulate the spider lazily lying back and say "ahh!", and she absolutely loved doing that as I sang this last line. Great book.

My students loved this book. I introduced the nursery rhyme. I usually talk about the same rhyme for 2 weeks. On the 2nd week, I started reading the book each day. Great visuals! Very cute story additions to the traditional nursery rhyme.

I've read a few versions of this classic rhyme and like this adapatation the best.

First, I like it because the spider is prominent in the storyline and never becomes overwhelmed by other elements. I know this may sound hard to believe, but in another version I picked up, the illustrator was so enamoured with the other animals that the spider was pretty much a second thought. Also, in other versions, they make the spider too small. I know some folks may not like spiders and think the smaller the better, but hey, he's the star of the story!

But the thing that most sets this version off from the rest is its inclusion of additional verses. This version goes on to tell you what happens after the water spout. The extra verses all work together and make the storyline complete. So, if you are like me and find yourself singing this song a lot, you will appreciate the new verses to shake up your routine.

Finally, I appreciate the quality of the illustrations. Nothing too radical, just a cute little spider and lots of colorful and cheerful surroundings. The illustrator doesn't get too cutesy like they sometimes do, and the illustrations fit with my preconceived ideas about what the things in this rhyme "should" look like.