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Tarantula Shoes
After moving from Arizona to Kentucky with his parents, his five-year-old twin brother and sister, and his pet tarantula, Fang, an eleven-year-old works creatively to earn the money for a special pair of basketball shoes that will help him feel accepted.
- GenresChildrens
142 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
2 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
About the author
Tom Birdseye
28 books20 followersI grew up in North Carolina and Kentucky, an ardent fan of anything that smacked of sports, crawdads, mud balls, forts built in the woods, secret codes, bicycles without fenders, butter pecan ice cream, and snow. I was, however, decidedly uninterested in writing-or any academic aspect of school, for that matter-never imagining that at the age of thirty-five I would become a published author. And yet after two unrelated college degrees, a year living in Japan, and ten years of teaching experience, that is what happened. Life, it seems, is full of who'd-a-thought-its.
I live in Corvallis, Oregon, with my wife, Debbie. Our two daughters, Kelsey and Amy, are both off on their own, living and working in Portland. When not writing, working at the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program in creative writing, or in classrooms talking with children and teachers about the writing process, I enjoy rock climbing, alpine ascents, scaling big trees, ski mountaineering, snowshoeing, backpacking, mountain biking, running, playing the string bass, and reading.
Even after many books published and awards won, at times it still amazes me that writing is my profession. It was such a difficult process for me when I was a kid; I can really identify with the reluctant writer in school today. Everything seemed to get in the way of my completing stories: from being left-handed, to my poor spelling skills, from punctuation woes, to especially a lack of ideas. Fortunately, the right people came along at the right time and helped me see past the hurdles, emphasizing instead the joy of the work and the satisfaction to be had in trying to uncover the important truths that can come out of fiction. Now I carry a small notebook at all times and am always on the lookout for material I can use in a story: ordinary people that would make good characters, the funny, telling, or poignant glimpses of life that are triggered by what I see and hear, and the wonderfully wise things people will say at the most unexpected times.
True, I still labor through my stories, wrestling with the spelling beast and the punctuation monster, writing and rewriting, then rewriting some more, until I glean my best, but the process has become one of pleasure instead of pain. I love doing it, and I love sharing it with others. The boy who couldn't imagine himself a writer, now can't imagine himself anything else.
I live in Corvallis, Oregon, with my wife, Debbie. Our two daughters, Kelsey and Amy, are both off on their own, living and working in Portland. When not writing, working at the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program in creative writing, or in classrooms talking with children and teachers about the writing process, I enjoy rock climbing, alpine ascents, scaling big trees, ski mountaineering, snowshoeing, backpacking, mountain biking, running, playing the string bass, and reading.
Even after many books published and awards won, at times it still amazes me that writing is my profession. It was such a difficult process for me when I was a kid; I can really identify with the reluctant writer in school today. Everything seemed to get in the way of my completing stories: from being left-handed, to my poor spelling skills, from punctuation woes, to especially a lack of ideas. Fortunately, the right people came along at the right time and helped me see past the hurdles, emphasizing instead the joy of the work and the satisfaction to be had in trying to uncover the important truths that can come out of fiction. Now I carry a small notebook at all times and am always on the lookout for material I can use in a story: ordinary people that would make good characters, the funny, telling, or poignant glimpses of life that are triggered by what I see and hear, and the wonderfully wise things people will say at the most unexpected times.
True, I still labor through my stories, wrestling with the spelling beast and the punctuation monster, writing and rewriting, then rewriting some more, until I glean my best, but the process has become one of pleasure instead of pain. I love doing it, and I love sharing it with others. The boy who couldn't imagine himself a writer, now can't imagine himself anything else.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 4, 2015
It was a good book!!! He was determined to get those shoes but he did just that and at the end had to realize what was most important!! Sometimes simplicity can do wonders even on a book! I didn't love it but I liked it!
September 28, 2018
Fun, clean
January 13, 2011
The book was one of the most interesting books I have ever read. It showed me how different states our inside the same country, and why it takes a while to get used to. First of all, it taught me how different the climate is in states, how different people talk, and how different the landforms are.
In the book, Ryan moves from Arizona to Kentucky. I thought this book was so well written because I could tell you the climates, landforms, and what kind of accent people have from there and I have never been to either one of those places. He described it so well in such a peculiar way that I had to read the passage twice. How he did it was that he described each detail through the characters instead of saying it himself. For instance, he had Ryan say how damp it was and how he couldn’t understand a word the people said here because the accent was so strong.
I would highly recommend this book even though it seems a little childlike because it teaches you a lot and has a very surprising ending.
In the book, Ryan moves from Arizona to Kentucky. I thought this book was so well written because I could tell you the climates, landforms, and what kind of accent people have from there and I have never been to either one of those places. He described it so well in such a peculiar way that I had to read the passage twice. How he did it was that he described each detail through the characters instead of saying it himself. For instance, he had Ryan say how damp it was and how he couldn’t understand a word the people said here because the accent was so strong.
I would highly recommend this book even though it seems a little childlike because it teaches you a lot and has a very surprising ending.
October 6, 2008
i read this a while ago so it would be too young now
May 20, 2013
the main character is so funny, this book made me laugh out loud
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews