Little Miss Spider: A Christmas Wish

Miss Spider

by David Kirk

It's Christmas Eve and Little Miss Spider wishes most of all that she had a little brother or sister to help her build snowy creatures and eat Betty Beetle's fig pudding, and when she meets orphan Asparagus "Gus" Beetle, Little Miss Spider thinks her wish may have been granted.

Genres: Christmas, Picture Books, Childrens, Holiday, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

David Kirk is the creator of children's books that follow the character Miss Spider. Before writing books, he made colorful toys that were sold in hand-painted boxes. He was urged to write children's books when his toys caught the interest of a book packager. It wasn't difficult to figure out what he would use as characters in his stories: his daughter, Violet, had a liking for bugs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_K...


Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A favorite Christmas tale about a homeless rescue. I love the final page, "Together they found All the joy Christmas brings--with the love of glad hearts beneath sheltering wings."

[Sherry Scheline · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading the reviews, I wish the copy of this book at the library had the book jacket. The reviews of the story help make it make a bit more sense. I wish I had read that first. It was cute, but the story is more moving after reading the reviews. Knowing there is an adoption story behind it makes the book make more sense. The Amazon description helped me as well. "It's Christmas Eve and Little Miss Spider wishes most of all that she had a little brother or sister to help her build snowy creatures and eat Betty Beetle's fig pudding, and when she meets orphan Asparagus "Gus" Beetle, Little Miss Spider thinks her wish may have been granted."
I did not gather that beautiful story from the book as well as the description states.

[Mellanie C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute.

[amelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[☼Bookish in Virginia☼ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute rhyming book about Little Miss Spider, her mother (Bettie Beetle), and her friend Asparagus Beetle. The story is essentially one about how much more important people are than things. It is heartwarming and Holiday appropriate.

I have to say though, that I was a bit puzzled about what was going on until I read the front flyleaf. The flyleaf provided a great deal of information about what the story was about. It explains something of Miss Spider's own adoption, and how she is missing all of her friends who are hibernating. I highly recommend you take a moment to read it with your child -at least once - before going on to the rest of the text.

The Accelerated Reading designation for this book is 3.1 which means that it is suggested for children in the first month of Third Grade. Having said that I would note that my own children had a bit of a problem with the font because it is stylized (i.e. fancy).

Vocabulary includes: boughs, beneath, Asparagus, gargoyles, frighten, cushion, and sheltering.

Four Stars. [B-:] :::: The artwork is typical of Miss Spider. Color is vivid and covers the entire page. Good Read-aloud. I liked the pro-family, pro-adoption attitudes, and the fact that the vocabulary isn't babyish. The AR designation for this book is 3.1.

Pam T~
mom and reviewer at BooksForKids-reviews.com

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's Little Miss Spider's first Christmas and she has only one wish: a friend. That is just who she meets when she goes out to play in the snow. Asparagus Beetle knocks her down into the snow to invite her to race. The two young kids use their imaginations as they build a castle out of snow and pretend to be king and queen.

When it's time for Miss Spider to head home for the night Asparagus Beetle helps her find her way. He will not step inside her house, insisting that he must get home to his own parents. After he's gone, Miss Spider misses him and something doesn't seem right. She and her mother go looking for him. They find him curled up with a family of snowpeople. He is gathered up and brought home to belong to Miss Spider's family. Her one Christmas wish is granted.

Children and adults may enjoy the easy rhythm of this tale borrowed from the "Twas the Night Before Christmas" poem.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Miss Spider is excited for Christmas, and wants to play in the snow. She is sad that she cannot find any other kid bugs to play with. Until a friendly little beetle wants to play with her. They have a lot of fun, but the beetle soon must go home. Little Miss Spider and her mother later find that the beetle must live outside in the harsh cold...until Little Miss Spider has a big idea!
This story was a fun book to read, with a cute little narrative. The book was assisted by some great, bright illustrations with vibrant colors. I really enjoyed it!

[Rosa Cline · Rating 5 out of 5]

The text in this book is one that you automatically fall in love with from the first page and stays with you even after you close the book. The pages are wonderfully illustrated along with the rhyming text. Miss Spider is a child and she's sad at Christmas. Although she's excited about the holiday she has no friends to help her celebrate and play with. She does find a friend and in the end that friend finds a family that he didn't have. A sweet 'adoption' book as well as a Christmas book.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seems like a Miss Spider book for the sake of writing a Christmas book. Rhyming text, illustrations of the Kirk-kind and cute enough.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

a cute story about a family of spiders who find inspiration in the natural world around them
a cute interest story

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

All Miss Spider wants for Christmas is a friend. What she gets is much better, she gets a sibling.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredibly cute story about Little Miss Spider. She goes out to play in the snow and meets a friend.

[Miri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little miss spider makes a Christmas wish for a friend. A sweet story with the well known Miss Spider illustrations.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

With elegant script and bug-eyed, soulful bugs Miss Spider's Christmas is as heartwarming as ever.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very bright pictures will capture the attention of kids. The verse is well done, and can be used for teaching about rhythm, rhyme, and alliteration. The story is a good one for teaching about caring for others.