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The Very Busy Spider

by Eric Carle

Interest age: 3 to 6
Reading age: 7+

Published by Puffin, 1996

  • Board books
  • Classics
  • Interactive
  • Picture books
  • Touch and feel books

About this book

One morning in a farmyard a spider begins to spin a web. All the animals try to persuade her to stop her spinning and go for a ride, a run or a roll in the mud. Spider doesn't answer any of them; she is too busy spinning her web.

Eventually the web is finished and spider catches a fly... just like that! Soon it is night time and owl asks, 'Who built this beautiful web?' But spider still doesn't answer, because she has fallen asleep after her busy day.

Children will enjoy making the noises of the farm animals, remembering what they want to do and joining in with the repetition. They can feel the spider's web growing on the page with their fingers.

About the author

Eric Carle has illustrated more than seventy books, and more than 88 million copies of his books have sold around the world.

He is one of the best-known and loved of picture book creators. His work is immediately recognisable through his vibrant use of colour and tissue-paper collage. Eric Carle's most famous book is, of course, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

In the mid 1960s, Carle decided to give up a successful career in advertising to become an illustrator and graphic designer. His first published work appeared in a cookery book. Soon afterwards, children's book author Bill Martin asked him to illustrate the manuscript of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? The resulting book was an instant hit. Encouraged by this success, Carle began submitting ideas for his own books. One of these was Willie The Worm. His editor suggested that a caterpillar might prove a more endearing character - the rest is history.

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