Beware of the venomous spider with the large red spot—it is a black widow! In this book you will learn how black widows are similar to and different from other arachnids. Close-up photographs and diagrams reveal extraordinary details about the black widow’s body both inside and out. A hands-on activity compares the black widow’s web to a human hair. Learn more about this fascinating member of nature’s Arachnid World.
"These volumes discuss the title animals' physical characteristics, life cycles, and danger to humans. Markle's clear and detailed narratives, along with instructive close-up photographs of the exterior and interior anatomies of the title arachnids, will fascinate readers and make them instant experts on the creatures." --The Horn Book Guide
--Journal
"This fascinating book about black widow spiders starts out by describing the difference between arachnids and insects. Students will be spellbound by its informative text and great graphics. Full-color photographs make this book especially informative. Detailed pictures of the inside and outside of the black widow are shown. Throughout the book, words that are hard to pronounce are phonetically spelled in parentheses. Interesting structures such as the malpighian tubules, tracheae, spinnerets, and book lungs are visually represented and described. These close-up photographs reveal details about the black widow spider that are extraordinary! This book goes into detail about how the black widow becomes an adult and gives information about their silk and venom. Each page also gives black widow facts, such as 'black widows usually only bite people if they are squeezed or bumped by them.' Readers will also learn how the black widow is classified and what other venom spiders look like. There is a glossary and lists of additional books to read and websites to visit for more information. All in all, this middle school book would be a great addition to any teacher's classroom library." --NSTA
--Website
"Markle follows her 'Insect World' series (Lerner, 2008) with a similarly designed overview of spiders, ticks, and scorpions. She presents a mix of common and less-common facts (not all arachnids have eight legs), and her commentary accompanies a particularly strong suite of illustrations featuring large, clear, labeled outside and inside views that display typical body parts. Photos go beyond the standard portraits to show, for instance, harvestmen mating and multiple shots of ticks feeding. Each volume also includes multimedia resource lists and a science activity designed to provide insight on the arachnid world without actually involving any live animals. First-rate." --School Library Journal, Series Made Simple
--Journal
"These books are very well done, with phenomenally great photographs. There are extreme close-ups of body parts: eyes, feet, inside the baby spider nests. There are many good photographs of spiders doing their daily spider thing, including eating prey or sucking blood out of their host. There are a lot of pictures of infant spiders. The books follow them through their life cycle. They also show photographs of the arachnids molting, mating, and maturing. The books contain small sidebars and cross-section drawings of each arachnid. Large fonts and few words on the page make the books easier to read. The book Ticks discusses diseases carried by ticks. Anyone interested in spiders and arachnids is going to love these books. They are well researched by Sandra Markle and the language is accessible to younger readers. Each book contains activities and More Arachnid Defenders." --Library Media Connection
--Journal
