The Spider and the Fly

Rating:
Summary: lesson in black and white
Review: I picked this book out because of its beautiful illustrations and found a great story. I recommend this story and it's moral to everyone. The story of the poor Fly would not be as interesting without the pictures. Tony DiTerlizzi uses the same aspects of illustrating picture books that Temple outlines: characterization, perspective, backgrounds, color, and picture/text relationships.
Characterization is not as important in this book because all the "creatures" are different from each other, but it is none the less used. Spider is usually seen wearing a sharp suit, bow tie, and he has a huge top hat. Spider always looks like he is cooking up a plan. Tiny Fly wears a cute dress and hat, carries a flower umbrella and has huge eyes. It is easy to tell them apart.
The perspective is usually from that of the Fly; Spider looks huge and menacing. When Spider is singing to Fly, the reader sees him on the roof of his house. Below the viewer sees the top of a very large baby doll. Everyday things seem so big because the characters are so small and the story is shown on their perspective.
The backgrounds to this story are of Spider's Victorian style house and views from it. Inside and out, everything is dark and ominous. Spider's house has insect sculpture, table legs, candle sticks and insect wall paper and table cloths...all indications of his bad intentions.
The pictures are black and white, but it is perfect for this story. DiTerlizzi uses value to differentiate between characters and objects. Spider and his clothes are a very dark black and Fly is light grey, very innocent. DiTerlizzi uses shading to create a film noir effect that sets the mood of the story.
The picture/text relationship is very important. The text was originally a poem that was adapted to this book. The text could exist on its own and still be interesting, but the illustrations make it captivating and more real. Also, there are characters in the illustrations that are not presented in the text. Two ghosts of bugs that have already been eaten by Spider are trying to warn Fly. They are seen throughout the house and even hold up Spider's book, "The Joy of Cooking Bugs." The choice of media, pencil and charcoal, really enhance the color and fit the setting and background of the story. The text is necessary to further the story, but it is the illustrations that bring it to life.
This book definitely deserves the Caldecott Award. The characters, Spider and Fly, seem so real. DiTerlizzi made them look like people. The reader can identify with them easier because they seem so real. The pictures are great, original, enchanting, and real. The Spider and the Fly deserved the Award.


Rating:
Summary: A Timeless Classic Made Even Better.....
Review: "Will you walk into my parlor?" said the Spider to the Fly... So begins Mary Howitt's 1829, cautionary timeless classic. But this age-old masterpiece has been elevated to new heights by the stunning, black and white, "silent screen" artwork of Tony DiTerlizzi. Mr DiTerlizzi has created a clever and captivating feast for the eyes, and filled his illustrations with spooky humor and wit, intricate, eye-catching details, marvelous facial expressions, and pure magic. Young and old alike will be entranced as they linger and explore each page, finding something new and enticing each and every time they open the book. Perfect for "youngsters" of all ages, The Spider And The Fly begs to be read aloud and shared with friends and family now, and future generations in the years to come. "And now, dear little children, who may this story read,/To idle, silly, flattering words I pray you ne'er give heed:/Unto an evil counselor,/close heart and ear and eye,/And take a lesson from this tale,/of the Spider and the Fly."

Rating:
Summary: Surprised
Review: Actually, I picked up this book because it was in the house and I needed something to read. I figured it would be some sort of stupid thing where the fly conquers all. But NOPE. It surprised me. The art is absoulutely spectacular. The poem was delightful. I at my 14 years, was astonished to be enjoying a children's book. It's not the happy go lucky stuff that's turning children into mindless clones. It's nice to read something with a taste of grimm's and a dash of dark graphic novel.

All in all five stars. It ranks up with comics by Roman Dirge and Jhonen Vasquez. Though, if you're a child, I recommend you wait till you're older to read them.

Rating:
Summary: "The Spider and the Fly": A Great Catch!
Review: After being asked to read 20 Caldecott Award Winning books for a college class, I was surprised to find that most of them were actually interesting. I was even more surprised to find a new favorite book in the Caldecott Honor Book, "The Spider and the Fly." This story, a dark, almost creepy tale, has a moral that adults and children alike should heed. Never talk to or go with strangers, and if something is too good to be true, then it probably is. Toni DiTerlizzi's artwork is magnificent and is reminiscent of the silent black and white films of long ago. I plan on giving this book to a few people for Christmas and will probably continue to give it as a gift for years to come. I encourage everyone to read this book if not for the words, at least the artwork, as it is spectacular.

Rating:
Summary: Silent Movies and Creepy Villians.
Review: Even though this book is being marketed towards young children, it is probably older children and adults who will find this book the most interesting. What makes this book so unique and such a wonderful gift are the beautiful illustrations. A great cautionary tale with some of the most original artwork in the last five years.

Rating:
Summary: Evil spider weaves web to ensnare innocent fly
Review: I have always been fasinated by this warning tale of the evils that can befall those who are too trusting and do not reguard strangers or those of brief aquaintance with proper waryness,(Especially young women... this is after all a Victorian tale!) but, never before have I been charmed amused and enchanted by it!
Mary B. Howett's tale is perfectly illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi.
Entirely done in black and white Tony has set the story in a charmingly Gothic Victorian doll house that carries the shadowy overtones of all evil dwellings.
The Spider is an Edwardian looking gentleman from his tiny moustache down to his spats. His home is the epitome of Victorian (pardon the pun)good taste. The fly is a wide eyed flapper who is as cute as a ..er bug.
A good deal of the charm of this book lies in the subtleties of Tony's wonderful illustrations. The wallpaper with a pattern of bees, the stuffed bug footstool, the cookbook bearing the title THE JOY OF COOKING BUGS, all are amusing additions to the larger tale the pictures tell . Just as the sad little daisy parasol of the fly sitting with her hat on the spiders plate speaks volumes.
This is not only a wonderful childrens book but one any adult who appreciates the work of Edward Gorey or the writing of Lemony Snickett will appriciate!
It is a surprisingly relevant tale for our time as it was for little children about a century ago.

Rating:
Summary: a spooky, "gothic" picture book
Review: I picked this book up on a whim while at the library one rainy day because the cover interested me. I was pleasantly suprised.
This book contained beautiful and very detailed illustrations by Tony DiTerlizzi while complementing the witty and elegant poem by Mary Howitt (R.I.P.).The book tells the tale of a pretty little fly and how she is lured and then finally eaten by the seductive Mr. Spider.
The illustrations are colored in only black and white which makes the book feel like a old fashioned horror movie you might see. Since it looks like a horror film I imagined Mr. Spider's voice like Vincent Price, which was fun for me. I also like Mr. Spider's doll house house and how the tale takes place in an old attic. This book is perfect for any age group and would be a good book to read near Halloween. I enjoyed it so much I went looking for more DiTerlizzi and discovered more books with his art and the fabulous Spiderwick Chronicles. I'd also like to mention that this book won the Caldecott award and I think it diserved it. This is a grand picture book.

Rating:
Summary: a spooky, "gothic" picture book
Review: I picked this book up on a whim while at the library one rainy day because the cover interested me. I was pleasantly suprised.
This book contained beautiful and very detailed illustrations by Tony DiTerlizzi while complementing the witty and elegant poem by Mary Howitt (R.I.P.).The book tells the tale of a pretty little fly and how she is lured and then finally eaten by the seductive Mr. Spider.
The illustrations are colored in only black and white which makes the book feel like a old fashioned horror movie you might see. Since it looks like a horror film I imagined Mr. Spider's voice like Vincent Price, which was fun for me. I also like Mr. Spider's doll house house and how the tale takes place in an old attic. This book is perfect for any age group and would be a good book to read near Halloween. I enjoyed it so much I went looking for more DiTerlizzi and discovered more books with his art and the fabulous Spiderwick Chronicles. I'd also like to mention that this book won the Caldecott award and I think it diserved it. This is a grand picture book.

Rating:
Summary: A dark treasure!
Review: I remember hearing the story of the spider and the fly when I was a kid, but I didn't exactly remember how it went. I think if I had had this book back then, I would have remembered it very well. The illustrations in this book are so beautiful and delicious! Even if the story totally sucked, this book would be worth the price for the pictures alone. But the story doesn't suck! The little details thrown in with the bug ghosts trying to warn the fly...it was just so unique. This book truly is a treasure to me, my collection will benefit greatly from it.

Rating:
Summary: Not a very good way to end
Review: One time,about last Halloween,I had a substitute teacher at school and she read this book.
The illustrations were very creepy.There was not any color illusrations.All of them were just Black and White.It has like a late 1800s or early 1900s scene.Some parts of the fly and spider actually look like humans.
In the end,the spider kills the fly but the fly was the spider's fiend.Not a very good story to read.Don't get this when you go a book shop.