SPI-KU

A celebration of spiders in poetry and prose.

The team that produced Superlative Birds (2019) and other highly regarded science poetry collections has selected 35 from the more than 48,000 species to introduce the order Araneae—spiders. An opening poem concludes, “Let’s spy spiders!” and that’s what follows. An early spread shows and tells readers what distinguishes spiders from other arachnids. The text is organized topically, covering special spider abilities (like silk spinning), sensory mechanisms, and a wide variety of behaviors including locomotion, capturing prey, eating, courting, and child care. Some spider predators and a few species that live socially are also introduced. Each spread includes the topic, a few paragraphs of exposition, and one to three cheerfully illustrated poems describing particular species or behaviors. As always, Bulion uses both evocative vocabulary and a variety of poetic forms; these are chosen with care and defined in the backmatter. The peacock spider, which raises a colorful flap in a courtship dance, is celebrated with a “Hoe-Down,” recalling a traditional song: “Spider gal, won’t you signal you’re mine, / And we’ll dance by the light of the sun!” The golden silk orbweaver gets a haiku: “sun-shimmer silk / calls six-legged web guests— / dinner!” The impressive backmatter also includes identification, with scientific names, for every spider shown; instructions for spider hunting; and relative sizes gauged against a familiar No. 2 pencil.

Engaging and information rich, this is wonderfully well woven.