Sylvie

by Jean Reidy, Lucy Ruth Cummins (Illustrator)

One small spider takes a big risk to bring together the people she watches over in her apartment building in this charming picture book from the celebrated author and illustrator of Truman .

Sylvie hangs on a silvery thread, safely hidden under her damp, dark fire escape. Sure, it’s a little too close to the dumpster below, but if she stays carefully out of sight, she can watch over her people in the apartment building above—a painter, a proper lady, a man with a plan, and a girl with an exceptionally brave tortoise.

Day and night, night and day, Sylvie watches over them making sure everything is just so . Lately though, her people seem to be missing…something. Sylvie wants to help, but she’s always stayed out of view. After all, not everyone appreciates a spider who calls attention to herself. When a most audacious idea comes to her though, one that might make everything more than just so , maybe even just right , can Sylvie muster her moxie and risk stepping into the spotlight?

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Friendship, Animals, Storytime, Fiction

40 pages, Hardcover

Published May 10, 2022

About the author

Jean Reidy’s bestselling and award-winning picture books have earned their spots as favorites among readers and listeners of all ages and from all over the world. She is honored to be a three-time winner of the Colorado Book Award, a Parent’s Choice Gold Award Winner, a Charlotte Zolotow Honor winner and recognized on “Best of” lists by School Library Journal, the New York Times, NPR and Amazon. Jean writes from her home in Chicago where she lives just a short walk from her neighborhood library … which she visits nearly every day.

Reviews

[sAmAnE]

کی از عنکبوت‌ خوشش میاد😭

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, goodness, I loved this! It's one of those books that comes along at just the right time and snuggles in when you needed it. I'm feeling a lot like that turtle (and the others) who used to be brave and inspired but is feeling in need of some new inspiration. I must start looking for sunlit spiderwebs! Sylvie is inspiring, I love her bravery and creativity and how she inspires that in others, and I love that she's also a nurturer and a quiet soul. I'm not a big fan of spiders in real life, much as I appreciate their purpose, but Sylvie now joins Sophie (Sophie's Masterpiece: A Spider's Tale) and Helen (Be Nice to Spiders) and, of course, Charlotte, as spiders I would be happy to know. This story is delightfully told, with wonderful vocabulary (some perhaps a bit beyond the younger picture book crowd, though) an almost poetic cadence and such vibrancy and the illustrations are charming. There's even a secondary message about community and helping the environment. The only reason I'm not giving it four stars is I do think some of it is a little too abstract for the younger picture book crowd and my children didn't have an overly enthusiastic response to it. But, I loved it.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up for the excellent vocabulary. This picture book has effervescent, dramatic text and illustrations, and the spider is very charming. However, there are some gaps in the story that depend on the reader's interpretation, which could make this confusing for young children's concrete thinking. This is more likely to appeal to adults.

[Taryn Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Turnrow Kid’s Club May Pick

Super cute 🙂

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why do I love Sylvie so much? Is it this picture book’s adorable undie, or its charming endpapers? What about its delicious vocabulary? Could it be that Jean Reidy & Lucy Ruth Cummins have created another delightful #kidlit story together after Truman? Answer… it’s all of the above!

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. From the publisher: "A picture book about a surreptitious spider who gathers the courage to help the neighbors she has watched over from afar--a promising painter, a proper little lady, a mindful young man, a brave girl and her exceptionally brave tortoise."

I enjoyed this one. Nice illustrations with diverse characters all seen from the perspective of a spider who tries to bring a group of young people in an apartment building together. Themes of being brave, friendship, and perspective are present. I like picture books where there are pages that orient differently with illustrations set vertically over the page fold--always interesting visually and kids think is neat. Seemed a bit long. Not sure if I'd use for a read-aloud unless it was needed for a theme for a young school-aged crowd, however it would make a nice book one on one I think.

[IvyInThePages · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 5 leaves out of 5
Characters: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Story: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Genre: Children
Type: Book
Worth?: Yes

[Cathy Ogren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sylvie is a spider. She keeps herself well hidden because “not everyone appreciates a spider who calls attention to herself.” While Sylvie keeps herself out of sight, she keeps a close eye on “her people” – the painter, the proper lady, the mindful man, and the brave little girl with the brave little tortoise. Day and night, Sylvie makes sure that her people and things are just so until the day things don’t seem that way. Sylvie makes a huge decision. That is the day she must call attention to herself. The painter, the lady, the man, and the little girl with the tortoise follow her to the top of the apartment building where Sylvie has a plan to make everyone just right. What is that plan? Read this delightful book to find out.

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the bold illustrations and Sylvie's sweet personality. The narrative was challenging to follow at times and required a lot of inferencing.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a sweet story. I happen to like spiders so Sylvie was a slam-dunk. Sweet story about community and how one brave act can make a big difference.

[Matthew · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this story didn't do it for me. I realize I'm not the audience for it, but even so, I work at a library and this book doesn't seem like it would interest many people--kids or adults. I will say that the cover caught my attention, because spiders have 8-12 eyes, depending on the species, by Sylvie only has two--freak! LOL But seriously, what the heck? Also, the story was pretty weak, which was a shame considering the art style made me pick it up in the first place. It's always a shame when the story doesn't match the pictures. I did enjoy the full-page illustrations, and the inclusion of different races, without it being the main point. But the story was flimsy, the characters weren't really strong, and not much happens. Not really a recommendation I'd make for anybody, kids or their parents. Sorry, Sylvie (2022) by Jean Reidy, and illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins. Missed opportunity. Plus there are some really big words that kids won't know, which is also a downer. My rating - 1/5

[Terresa Wellborn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for the illustrations of the silly spider, Sylvie, standing on the turtle's back (at the end of the book), which was worth the price of admission. And yet the storyline fell short. I wish it was more about the dynamic (possible) duo of Sylvie and turtle, instead of Sylvie spying like a bit of an eight-legged creeper through the apartment dweller's windows, trying to spin magic like Charlotte in Charlotte’s Web.

Sweet enough but Sylvie's big idea was...what exactly? That she climbs to the top of the apartment building to then meet the tenants and sit on a turtle's back, witnessing their plan to spruce up the place? How did all of the building dwellers come together, because they saw a spider climb up past their window? Am I missing something here?

Themes: silly spiders, animals, fantasy
Ages: K-2nd grade
Pub year: 2022

[Susan Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes spiders just know things better than people do. Sylvie knows enough to stay out of sight but she cares for the people around here. Eventually, when she sees that the people are not quite at their full potential--and functioning--she steps in and manages to weave relationships that quite need to be drawn together. The vocabulary in this book is a welcome aspirational pull for young readers and listeners-- it will appeal to their sense of sophistication and ambitions to be tiny grown ups. An utterly charming protagonist and great story.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

" ... not everyone appreciates a spider who calls attention to herself."

Sylvie quietly observes the people in her building. She sees a budding painter, a young girl having a proper tea party with a stuffed bear, a young boy doing some mindful planning and a girl with an "exceptionally brave tortoise." Sylvie notices that all these people are working alone and wonders if they might need a little shake up. "Did the four need something ... more?" Sylvie has an idea, "an audacious, dangerous, magnanimous idea." But can she risk coming out in the open to bring all these people together?

[Gretchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Truman, also written by this author and illustrator, Sylvie is a quiet story of an animal who is happy but wants to do more. Sylvie, a spider, wants to be a friend to the people in her building and help inspire them when they seem to have lost a step. This is a book that makes you smile and want to meet your neighbors. I also love that Truman is included as a character but you wouldn't know it unless you had read his book too. It is also a great book to read to kids to understand that they don't have to be afraid of spiders.

[Erin Buhr · Rating 4 out of 5]

SYLVIE is the story of a small, but bold spider who lives under the fire escape of an apartment building watching over the lovely people inside. She usually stays hidden, for obvious reasons, but when the residents of the building seem to be a little off Sylvie comes up with a bold plan to bring everyone together. This was written and illustrated by the same team that brought us TRUMAN (a must read if you haven't already!) and this story is set in the same world with similarly gentle, but empowering words and pictures.

[Sylvia Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Besides the personally-enticing title :), I couldn't wait to dive into SYLVIE since I loved Reidy and Cummins' TRUMAN, and SYLVIE did not disappoint! With witty references to many people's attitudes towards spiders, SYLVIE presents an altruistic story that has a most charming connection with TRUMAN. I really enjoyed the mindful and hope-filled language layered and threaded throughout, as well as the wonderful art that uses color-shifting moments, emotion-charged motions, and engaging changes in perspective. I highly recommend SYLVIE (and TRUMAN!).

[Barbra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sylvie loves the people of her building, she loves watching them but stays safely hidden and out of sight. Then she senses something is wrong. The people seem to be missing something. When a ray of sun shines upon her it encourages her to do something, to be known no matter how risky, because not everyone likes to see spiders. When she hops upon the tortoise also enjoying the sun the people don't seem to mind.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Special thanks to Simon & Schuster for the copy of Sylvie. The illustrations are superb and a wonderful use of two pages to depict the tall apartment house. The repetition about not drawing attention to oneself as a spider and the need to help her friends, was reminiscent of Charlotte but in a simpler, more personal way. Through her efforts, she brought everyone together, "just right." Great story. Good read aloud!

[Angela De Groot · Rating 5 out of 5]

A darling picture book, just like Truman by the same author and illustrator pairing. Sylvie keeps watch over her people from the shadows, and from her home on the building’s fire escape, because “not everyone appreciates a spider who calls attention to herself.” But one day, Sylvie notices that her people aren’t quite right, and she comes up with a plan to bring everyone together.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a great lover of TRUMAN, I was disappointed in this one, though I loved his cameo! Those of us who read it together in our house just didn't get it. It took a number of readings for me to understand the way the art and story come together. I think the forced use of alliteration really got in the way of the message and made the whole thing too complicated.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of vocabulary words in this gentle story of a spider who takes a brave step--and ends up uniting some lonely neighbors in an apartment building. The simple illustrations are very cute! It just might make an arachnophobe think a bit differently about spiders.

[Roben · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite four-year-old and I enjoyed this one! She had never seen a fire escape - so that was a fun thing to explore.
Putting yourself out there to help your friends and revisiting Truman the turtle.

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful spider who watches over everyone in the building without being seen because they might run away. She decides everyone in the building she is watching over needs something and she leads them with her web to the roof to gather, clean, and enjoy the roof and company.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sylvie is a spider who lives near an apartment in the city where she provides over watch for its inhabitants. Sylvie notices a change of behavior in the tenants, so she goes out on a limb to restore what she was used to seeing from them all.

[Zan Porter]

A picture book about a surreptitious spider who gathers the courage to help the neighbors she has watched over from afar--a promising painter, a proper little lady, a mindful young man, a brave girl and her exceptionally brave tortoise.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story about community and kindness, and how even the smallest among us can have a big impact. Read-alike to "Hey, Wall: A Story of Art and Community" by Susan Verde. I would read this to early elementary aged kids

[Ann Haefele · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the illustrations and the idea of the story. But I feel like the story would need a lot of inference for kids. Whether reading this story to a group or one on one, the adult would have to keep explaining to children what is happening and why.

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sylvie the spider visits the residents in the apartment building on whose fire escape she lines and ponders how to make their “just so” lives “just right.”

The illustrations were made using gouache, brush marker, charcoal, and colored pencil.

[Stephanie Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

Illustrations a e nice. The language is also good. But the story seems a bit random. The spider has no relations with the other characters nor do the characters with each other. So the connection in the end seems random.