Following the recent songs-to-books trend, this classic children's ditty has been expanded to six verses of arachnid heroics and illustrated with attractive watercolors. Although the lyrics are uneven at best, the winsome spider and her triumphs over mouse, cat, and other perils will bring chuckles to young listeners. Music included. From HORN BOOK 1993, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Ages 3-6. This new twist on a favorite preschool tale will be a smash hit at story hour. After reciting the usual first verse, Trapani continues the spider's climbing adven~tures: she climbs up a kitchen wall, and is blown off by a fan; up a yellow pail, and is flicked off by a mouse's tail; up a rocking chair, and is sent flying by a pouncing cat; up a maple tree, and slips on dew and lands in a leaf. Finally the spider climbs up a tree, stops, and spins a lovely web. The sing-song cadence of the extend~ed rhyme works perfectly, and the colorful, if unso~phisticat~ed, artwork matches the comfortable text. The gray spider, with two dots for eyes and a line for a mouth, seems right at home with the tale's other plump creatures. A clever person could easily create finger plays for the new verses. Music and lyrics for all six verses are appended. ~--Deborah Abbott