Someone Saw a Spider: Spider Facts and Folktales

by Shirley Climo, Dirk Zimmer (Illustrator)

A collection of myths, folklore, and superstitions about spiders from around the world, with some facts about how they live.

133 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1985

About the author

Shirley Climo was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1928. She attended DePauw University until her mother died unexpectedly in 1949. She dropped out of college and took up her mother's work writing scripts for the weekly WGAR-Radio children's program Fairytale Theatre. During her lifetime, she wrote 24 books including The Korean Cinderella; Magic and Mischief: Tales from Cornwall; A Treasury of Princesses: Princess Tales from Around the World; A Treasury of Mermaids: Mermaid Tales from Around the World; and Someone Saw a Spider: Spider Facts and Folktales. She died on August 25, 2012 at the age of 83.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with her debut folkloric collection, Piskies, Spriggans, and Other Magical Beings: Tales from the Droll-Teller , in which she paired each selection with a brief discussion of the superstitions associated with it (or the magical being in it), Shirley Climo presents nine folktales in Someone Saw a Spider, each followed by a brief factual aside about spiders. Unlike that earlier volume, which set out folktales from one small corner of the world (Cornwall), this book's contents are drawn from diverse traditions, ranging from the Japanese to the Liberian. The result is an engaging title that is both informative and entertaining, with appealing black and white illustrations by Dirk Zimmer, who also worked on Alvin Schwartz's In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories . Selections include:

Arachne's Gift, the classical Greek myth (here taken from Ovid's interpretation) in which the proud weaver Arachne pays a price for refusing to cede superiority to the goddess Minerva. The Arachnida class, to which spiders belong, is named after this figure.

The Cloud Spinner, a Japanese tale in which poor farmer Yosaku is aided by the spider whose life he saved. When the snake from which he saved her reappears, the spider must flee to the safety of the sky, where she weaves the clouds. The secret weaving component of this story put me strongly in mind of the tale of The Crane Wife .

The Spider Brothers Make the Rainbow, a story from the Achomawi people of northern California, in which Spider Woman's two sons - at the instigation of Coyote - convince Old-Man-Above to stop the never-ending rains. The rainbow - Old-Man-Above's sign that he intends to do just that - appears for the very first time, as a result of their journey.

How Spider Got His Waistline, an Ananse tale from Liberia, in which Oldman Spider's tricks finally get him into trouble, when his stealing from Leopard is discovered.

The Prophet and the Spider, a Muslim story of the Prophet Mohammed, in which Mohammed and his disciple, Abu Bakr, flee from their pursuers in the desert outside of Mecca, and are shielded by a spider, who weaves her web across the entrance to the cave in which they are hidden.

The Spider and the King, an old Scots legend, in which King Robert the Bruce, on the run from his English enemies, is inspired by the ceaseless efforts of a small spider, who tries time and again to weave her web in the hut where he has taken refuge.

Father Spider Comes to Dinner, a Russian tale in which Father Spider is invited into town one especially wet summer, when the mosquito population has burgeoned beyond all other control, and is driving the townspeople wild.

The Spellbound Spider, a Portuguese fairy-tale, in which lazy Marco, seeking his fortune in the world, must hold to his vow, and marry the first female he encounters - a spider! His unusual wife turns out to be more than he expected, however, in a story that reminded me of tales like The Frog Princess .

And finally, Sally Maud, Zachary Dee, and the Dream Spinner, a Euro-American tale from the Ozarks, in which the poverty-stricken Zachary Dee finds a way - with the help of a spider - to court the much-sought-after Sally Maud.

[Sharon Barrow Wilfong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short but fun read about myths and folklore around the world about spiders. I bought my book on eBay used, and the original owner got it signed by the author. Makes it an extra valuable read.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My eight year old niece liked this collection of short stories and folk tales about spiders, declaring "Arachne's Gift" and "How the Spider Got His Waistline" to be the best stories in the group. She read this book on her own, which required some determination on her part, because many of these stories are probably a bit of a stretch beyond her current reading level. But she did it, which I think is a testament to how well-written and engaging these stories are.

Spider tales from many countries were represented, and these stories all portrayed the spider in different lights. Sometimes the spider was a trickster, sometimes he was a helper, sometimes she was a source of inspiration, and sometimes she was even a mate. To a human. The stories were separated by spider facts, spider lore, spider legends, and spider poems, all of which were entertaining and interesting in their own right. When coupled with the folk tales, however, these little interludes made the entire book take on added depth and character.

Now, spiders are not high on my list of favorite creatures. In fact, I hate them. However, books like this help me to see them in different ways, and that might make me freak out a little less the next time I see one in my house. Depending, of course, upon how big and fast it is, and upon whether or not it's in my house to trick me or to help me.