Sophie's Masterpiece: A Spider's Tale (edició 2004)

Sophia the spider made beautiful pictures in her webs. She visits every person and the house, but everyone is either scared of her or wants to kill her. She then discovered a young woman who loved her. The woman loved to knit for her new baby, but she did not have enough money for yarn. So Sophia the spider created a blanket for the new coming baby. She worked so hard she passed away after she finished the blanket. Her masterpiece was the blanket. ( )

I like this book, but it's my least favorite. Sophie is not just a house spider, she's an artist. Sophie would spin webs and everyone called her incredible, even her mama was proud. Everyone believed she will spin a masterpiece. Sophie moved to Beekman's Boardinghouse. When she walked into the house, everything looked old, dull, and faded so she went to work by showing off her talent. Sophie knew she wasn't wanted in the house, or anywhere because she's a spider. Sophie grows old and lived in a young pregnant woman's house so she spins a baby blanket for the woman. That was Sophie's last masterpiece. The woman appreciates and adores the blanket, so she wrapped it around her baby. It's hard to discover the theme of this book. But I know the children would like this book. ( )

I liked it, but it's a bit more melancholy than I usually want for my preschooler. Sort of a picture book version of Charlotte's Web: Follows an artsy young spider through her short (and largely unfulfilled) life. ( )

Autographed copy, gift of the author. Dedicated to PGHW members.

This was a wonderful book about the relationship between humans and animals (specifically spiders). This book emphasized topics such as creativity, art, and treating others with respect and kindness all through the eyes of a spider. The writing of this story was beautiful and created clear and believable images. For example the author used descriptive language such as, "snippets of fragrant pine, wisps of night, old lullabies and playful snowflakes." to describe the blanket that Sophie the spider was weaving for the baby. This language not only made the story more enjoyable to read, but it along with the illustrations added to the reader's ability to picture the scene and engage all of the senses. The big idea of this story was focused on treating others with respect and kindness. Sophie the spider encountered many humans that hated her simply because she was a spider, then she came across one woman that finally treated her kindly and was not afraid of her. Because of the kindness she was shown, Sophie did something nice for the woman. This is an important message for children. ( )