A Christmas Spider's Miracle

by Trinka Hakes Noble, Stephen Costanza (Illustrator)

Overview

Long ago in a faraway place there lived two mothers. One, a humble peasant woman who struggled daily to provide for her children. And the other, a mother spider who also worked hard to care for her family. And although it would appear they were as different as night and day, these two mothers had more in common than would first seem.
As the only holiday gift she can give her children, one cold Christmas Eve the peasant woman goes to the forest to get a tree, never noticing that someone has made a home among its branches. During the night, the mother spider spins webs decorating the tree, resulting in a Christmas that neither mother will ever forget.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781585366026
Publisher:	Sleeping Bear Press
Publication date:	09/01/2011
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,098,709
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	6 - 10 Years

Editorial Reviews

During the “bleakest of winters,” a gentle mother spider that resembles a wooden marionette tends to her children in a fir tree; indoors, a peasant mother mends clothing to earn money for her family. When the woman moves the tree inside for her children, she inadvertently saves the spider and her babies from freezing, and the spider repays her by spinning beautiful decorations for the tree. Costanza contrasts cold, velvety blues with the glowing warm tones of the village and cozy cabin in this classic Ukrainian story about generosity and goodwill. Ages 6–10. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Gr 1–3—Noble puts her own spin on a Ukrainian folktale. In this version, a mother spider, wary of humans, makes a home for herself and her spiderlings in a small fir tree. Meanwhile, a poor human mother, unable to afford even one small gift for her children, decides to bring the fir tree inside to cheer them. Hoping to create decorations from bits of scrap material, she sketches festive patterns but falls asleep; the mother spider, feeling a kinship with this woman, weaves exquisite, glistening ornaments based on the patterns. Thus, a miraculous sight greets the youngsters on Christmas morning. Enchantingly told, the story is enriched by the visual magic of Costanza's colorful, textured compositions. An excellent choice for lap-sit reading or group sharing.—Linda Israelson, Los Angeles Public Library

School Library Journal

An impoverished single human mother struggling to provide a Christmas treat for her children and a spider mother trying to care for her own babies find their lives intersecting on Christmas Eve in this poignant interpretation of a Ukrainian folktale.

Luminous illustrations in jewel-bright tones show the smiling mother spider in her kerchief and dress, trying to keep her seven babies warm outside in the wintry weather. The mother spider is quite appealing in the illustrations, with a gentle demeanor and sweet expression that should mollify any arachnophobic readers. The human mother does her best to care for her three children in their tiny cottage, but she can't afford any of the Christmas toys or sweets sold in the market stalls. Late on Christmas Eve, she goes out to bring in a little fir tree from the forest, though she has only ideas and no materials for decorations. The spider mother and her children are hidden in the tree, and during the night, the spider spins gossamer decorations for the tree using the woman's sketches as inspiration. The story unfolds smoothly, with the lyrical, dramatic text conveying the desperate circumstances of the family's poverty, as well as the miraculous resolution for both devoted mothers.

An appealing story with a magical aura spun by the shimmering illustrations and memorable story. (author's note)(Picture book/folktale. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews