CARAB, THE TRAP-DOOR SPIDER

by Alice L. Hopf ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 1970

Any youngster wary of spiders will be doubly so after he shudders through this anthropomorphic encounter with an inhuman animal. At the start the spiderlings are ""cozy"" in their silken web and they ""felt safe"" in the hole guarded by their mother and the trap door. Moreover--and more pointless--Carab ""did not know what his mother looked like,"" which may be just as well since ""she was a scary sight."" But not nearly so scary as the female he later seeks out, warily, to mate with: ""She crouched on her eight black, hairy legs. Her great fangs were opened to grab her prey. Her eight eyes looked at him hungrily."" And after the act (""He knew what he had come for, and he was not going to give up""), she does indeed try to devour him. . . in equally repugnant terms. You might well fly before you come into this parlor.

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1970

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1970

Categories: NONFICTION