Spi-ku: A Clutter of Short Verse on Eight Legs

by Leslie Bulion, Robert Meganck (Illustrator)

Leslie Bulion, award-winning educator favorite and master of science poetry, is back with a humorous exploration of the silk-spinning, bungee-jumping, hunting, trapping, trick-filled world of spiders!

Meet spiders that spit silk, roll like wheels, scuba dive, hide under trap doors, strum tunes, and so much more. Watch as they find mates, find prey...or find mates that become prey!

Award-winning poet Leslie Bulion and illustrator Robert Meganck team up again for this clutter (a collective noun for spiders) of short poems and humorously accurate illustrations celebrating the amazing attributes of Araneae.

The book is also packed with helpful sidebars, call-outs, and back matter, including a glossary of science terms, a description of the poetic forms, a list of common and scientific names, a spider-hunting adventure how-to, resources for further study, and a relative-size chart. A feast for science and animal fans!

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Nature, Juvenile, Childrens, Science

48 pages, Hardcover

Published March 2, 2021

About the author

March 1, 2015 (Peachtree)

Funnny and challenging anatomy riddles in a variety of poetic forms with a hint of Shakespeare!
www.lesliebulion.com

Reviews

[Jennifer Halbur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did you know there are over 48,000 known spider species? I do now thanks to this informative book. What a fun way to learn, I can just imagine how students are going to love this one.

[Bethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars. Fantastic collection of varied style poems about practically every spider in the world! Poems and information grouped by topic: types of webs, food, mothers, movement, etc. Outstanding back matter: poem types, spider resources, actual spider size comparisons. Great illustrations, almost don’t want to touch the pages but spider eye expressions make them approachable.

[Susan Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

what an interesting combo of short poems about spiders and factual information. I'm going to booktalk this to some third graders this week!

[Vera Godley · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I see the word "clutter" I immediately think of a messy mess. Stuff cluttered about. So imagine my surprise when I learned that "clutter" is a collective noun for spiders! And then, I have this dream-nightmare of spiders. Goes back to my childhood when I was so afraid of the huge garden spiders that spun their webs across our garden gate. Enough about me and spiders (just don't let them creep, leap, hop, crawl off the pages of this book).

This is not your little kiddie book but it is a children's book. The illustrations are so very realistic. The side bars of information contain tidbits that will educate nicely. The poetic tone of the book's text, while not all in rhyme, is an introduction to a form of literature sometimes missed.

Educational text "The World of Spiders," "Spectacular Silk," "Spiders on the Move," etc. present instructional text on specifics of spider life and attributes. What is so much fun in each of these sections is the short verse that so entertainingly tells the read about that aspect of spiders. For example: "Worldwide Webbers" has this little nugget.....

Black-and-Yellow Garden Spider
An orbweaver called it a night.
Belly stuffed in the dusk's waning light,
Then a hurrying fly
Crashed her web and stuck by,
And the spider shrugged, "Well... one more bite."

The back matter pages at book's end include Glossary, A Few Notes on Poetic Form, Spi-ku Spider Identification, Spider Hunt!, and For Further Study. So much to delight in as the author and illustrator bring entertaining lessons on the world of spiders and do it in such a poetic method. Entertaining education!

School librarians, public librarians, home schools, and classroom teachers should all include this one in their collections.

I received a complimentary copy to facilitate a review. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfect for spider enthusiasts and teachers looking for mentor texts to encourage students to respond to science units in creative ways. Each spread includes a block of text about a topic (mealtime, movement, senses, etc.), one or more poems about the topic, and illustrations that showcase spiders carrying out the actions described. Readers will see spiders peeking from beneath a chef's hat, diving underwater, and building trapdoors among a variety of other activities. Nonfiction features include a table of contents, glossary, spider identification guide, suggestions for further study, a size comparison chart, and a guide to poetic forms used in the book. There is also an explanation of how to go on a spider hunt to find and observe spiders.

Whether readers are looking for details about spider anatomy (there is a full-page diagram), or which creatures in the arachnid family are true spiders, there are plenty of facts to be explored. Each spread has a heading referenced in the table of contents and some of them are quite funny, such as "Worldwide Webbers" for the spread about spider web creation. The variety of poetic forms is also excellent for classroom use - with examples of haiku, tanka, cinquain, dodoitsu, concrete, and other forms.

Recommended for upper elementary/middle grade classes or enthusiasts.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This poetry collection devoted to the intriguing world of spiders is a 3.5 for me, and I'd certainly include it in a classroom collection. The poet uses a variety of poetic forms in more than 35 poems, including haiku, tanka, cinquains, dodoitsu, and concrete poems. She also includes a two-verse poem, a form I'm rather fond of. But in addition to the clever poems, the book contains information about how spiders move, their eating habits and behaviors, and their body parts. The digital illustrations are clean and crisp, and the whole package will have readers appreciating spiders much more than they may have previously. After all, as the final pages reveal, spiders are an important part of the ecosystem and helpful to humans in many ways. Back matter includes a glossary, an explanation of the poetic forms used in the book, and scale drawings of several spiders, some drawn to actual size and others drawn a little bit larger than they might appear in real life. If nothing else, readers will come away having learned a new term--clutter--a collective noun for a group of spiders, something I had never known before reading this book. Author Leslie Bulion clearly appreciates these small creatures--and she wants others to do so as well.

[Ellon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm torn on this one.
First, the title made me think that this would be a collection of Haikus about spiders. This is not the case. There are a few Haikus but it's a collection of lots of different poems.
Second, there is a plethora of information about spiders between the poems. Too much information if you ask me because the book then becomes super text heavy. Again, the cover gives the impression that this will be a light read for younger readers but the text included is tiny, detailed, and more advanced.
Third, as mentioned earlier, the book has many different types of poems. I really think that the book would have benefited by labeling the poems by poetic form (maybe at the bottom of the page. I've seen other poetry books do this). In the back matter, the author mentions the forms and then lists the poems for each form (but not really lists, more like puts the information in a paragraph about the form). To me, this made it difficult to really tell which poem was which form without flipping back and forth.

So, I appreciate the information about spiders provided. The illustrations were pretty neat. Some of the poems were awesome. But overall, this wasn't my favorite.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was terrific fun but I would caution that while the poetry will be a delightful addition to any classroom read aloud or unit the information sections are really best for the spider obsessed readers. I count myself in that category and have thought I was fairly knowledgeable but I learned so much! There are types of spiders here I had never encountered and behaviors that were totally new to me.Really great facts and well presented.

I loved the poetry which is all short and great fun to read aloud. There is an Author's Note on the forms used in the book. Back matter also includes a glossary, a list by page title of the spiders discussed, a bibliography and an excellent guide to how to find and view spiders.

Robert Meganck's illustrations are charming and fun and will hopefully help a fearful reader be less afraid of this extraordinary creature.

[Carol Doeringer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The publisher, @Peachtree, recommends this book for ages 8-12, but I promise you—anyone interested in insects and spiders, adults included, will love this book. I’ve read countless books, articles, and field guides about spiders. Few are as jam-packed with Spi-ku’s fun and approachable details. Not to mention the poetry. Bulion’s delicious, short verses are a fraction of the book’s larger body of information; like the icing on an already satisfying cake. I learned tons reading the book. One of its best features for me: Bulion includes pronunciation prompts for spider body parts like chelicerae (cheh/LIH/suh/ray), their sharp-fanged jaws. Meganck’s illustrations are top-notch: lively and fun without sacrificing accuracy. I highly recommend this book.

[Erin Buhr · Rating 4 out of 5]

SPI-KU is a collection of poems about spiders. Despite the title it is not a collection of haikus, it's not even entirely poetry. The collection holds a ton of poems about spiders from witty to scientific. The poems are paired with nonfiction information about spiders that is detailed and fascinating. The collection has many different types of verse, but it does include several forms of Japanese poetry which the author explains more in the backmatter. If your kid or classroom loves spiders I can't think of a more engaging book to share.

[Jessica Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

The poetry in this collection about eight-legged creatures is as diverse and eclectic as the illustrations capturing habitats in which spiders exist. There is a lot of text on the page for squirmy readers to divulge in one sitting; however, the illustrations kept my 3yo coming back for more. His favorite? The Hawaiian "Happy Face" Spiders as he recognized the creatures from an episode of Little Einsteins. I guess their features really do assure their survival in more ways than one!

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spider lovers will be in bliss about the varied and informative poems and deeply detailed sidebar science text, bth of which are well-written and eye-popping. Those who are NOT opening these pages as spider fans might just discover so many fascinating facts, complex adaptations, and remarkable behaviors that the aversion shifts to respect.
This has a wide range of potential audiences, in age and purposes. I can't help but wonder how engrossed (pun intended) Spiderman fans will be!

[Nichole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given an arc of this book in a giveaway.

This was a really interesting book. A kid could read all of it or just the information or just the poems. All of these would be great experiences with this book. I learned more about spiders in this book than any other spider book I've ever read. I like how specific it is and the illustrations are really fun.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bulion blends poetry with informative text about spiders. Each page spread has at least one poem about particular spiders to reinforce the shared information on each type. Meganck's illustrations are realistic so readers see what the spiders look like as well as how they behave.
A terrific way to work in both poetry and information reading for upper elementary readers.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title isn't kidding when it mentions a clutter of verse. The text is everywhere and small. I enjoyed the various haiku-inspired poetry of the different arachnids, the illustrations and I can see bug enthusiasts enjoying this book. The actual size chart at the back of the book was a neat feature. This title was received from Peachtree Publishing.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of great facts, poems are nice.

[Juli Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun and scientific mash-up of two of my favorite things: spiders and poetry!

[Children's Literature Centre at FSU · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book about spiders. It gives interesting facts about spiders and also includes poems within the book. A good read for students trying to learn about spiders!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant concept and format—a great book to engage kids with a subject they may otherwise be scared by! And a great kick to research.

[Sirah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spiders are not like people, and that sort of makes them scary, but they're actually pretty cool. I'm not sure if that makes them poetic, exactly, but this book seems to think so.

[Gail Sacharski · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting little book combining poetry and information about spiders. Each page had poems of different styles about different types of spiders with great illustrations and then information on those spiders--how they spin (or don't spin) webs, how they mate, how they raise spider babies, what they eat, where they live, how they hunt & protect themselves. It's full of interesting information & humor, wonderful pictures & fascinating facts. Still doesn't make me like them any more, but does make me appreciate the job they do.