Parents' Guide to

Miss Spider's Wedding

By Kate Pavao, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 5+

Beautiful art shines over sometimes dark read-aloud.

Book David Kirk Picture Book 1995
Miss Spider's Wedding Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

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age 9+

Based on 4 parent reviews

jmoreland8155
jmoreland8155 Adult
November 3, 2011
age 18+

Very inappropriate. Horrible language and refrences.

I was reading this book to my five year old boys, and I came across the word "pantywaste". Immediately, I put it down. I read it later myself, and there were many more inappropriate words and phrases. One of the illistrations shows the bad spider smoking a cigarette. I absolutely DO NOT recommend this book for children. I actually believe it should be pulled off of the shelves.

This title has:

Too much swearing
1 person found this helpful.
Jason S.
Jason S. Parent
May 5, 2022
age 10+

Not for little kids

I was shocked that my kid's school allowed my kindergarten student access to this book. Poor content. The message could have been conveyed without the inappropriate insinuations, the aggressive and verbally abusive spiders, and the demeaning comments relating to the characters' physical appearances. I read a few pages in with my kids. Skipped a few lines while reading due to the content and then shut it completely.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 4 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Miss Spider has found the man of her dreams -- a wise, kind, and polite young spider named Holley -- but a meddling friend thinks he's not good enough for her. So she arranges for scheming Spiderus Reeves to press his affections on Miss Spider. When Miss Spider spurns his honey-tongued advances, he is enraged. "You cannot mean," Spiderus howled, / That you're rejecting me! / Tell me this loathsome rival's name; / I'll squash him like a flea!" When Spiderus catches up with Holley, set to administer the fatal bite, Miss Spider sweeps down from the heavens to crown him with a blow from a rolling pin. Soon, wedding bells chime for Holley and Miss Spider.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (4 ):
Kids say (4 ):

A lot of this story will play better for adults than kids. The author uses words like "co-webitate" -- and a lovesick Holley daydreams of Miss Spider, "Envisioning her fine assets, / Her gentle curves, her spinnerets." But read aloud, kids will be lulled by the rhyming poetry, even when they don't understand exactly what's going on -- and they will certainly be captivated by Kirk's nearly 3-D artwork, which transports them into Miss Spider's surreal world.

Once the menacing Spiderus Reeves is out of the picture, the story brightens considerably, and kids will likely prefer this part of the book: There are fun details about the spider wedding ("June beetles spin in pirouettes,/and clickbugs clack like castanets"), a lovely picture of a golden Miss Spider in in her spider web veil, and a certain sweetness as Miss Spider cherishes finding "the place where love abides."

Kirk's vibrant oil paintings create a glowing surreal world. His art is truly transporting, especially the golden picture of Miss Spider walking down the aisle in her spider web veil.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the art. How does Kirk make his images so vibrant? How does he use color to create a mood?

  • Was the story scary?

Book Details

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