Spinderella. (Blue Go Bananas). Julia Donaldson. Illustrated by Liz Pichon. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2006. 48 pp., pbk. & cl., $7.16 (pbk.), $18.36 (RLB). ISBN 0-7787-2650-9 (pbk.), ISBN 0-7787-2628-2 (RLB). Subject Heading: Readers (Primary). Grades 1-2 / Ages 6-7. Review by Tanya Boudreau. *** ½/4

excerpt:

When morning came, she was still awake. “I wish I could learn about numbers!”” she sighed.

“And so you shall!” came a loud voice.

Spinderella looked up and saw an enormous hairy spider. “Who are you?” asked Spinderella, amazed.

“I am your Hairy Godmother,” said the enormous spider. “Follow me!”

Spinderella offers a different twist on the Cinderella story. Spinderella, a soccer fan, lives in Scuttleton Elementary School with her nine brothers and sisters. She longs to learn about numbers so she can divide the family soccer team up fairly and evenly. She also wishes for soccer shoes for herself and her family. The pea they are kicking around as a soccer ball is hurting their legs! Her wishes are granted. Spinderella’s Hairy Godmother takes her into a classroom where she can eavesdrop as the children are learning math. And with a swish of her wand, Hairy Godmother produces ten little piles of boots for Spinderella’s family. How will the soccer team fare now with all Spinderalla’s new math knowledge and with the family in new boots?

     What animation! The spiders come to life in this story! They are so colorful and full of energy. The only thing they are lacking is number knowledge! But Hairy Godmother, who arrives surrounded in a flurry of numbers, grants Spinderella’s wishes. Spinderella learns how to divide her brothers and sisters into two even groups for soccer and how to count up to twenty. She teaches her mom how to keep score, and, most importantly, she instills a love of numbers into her family.

     The author provides some extras in the back of the book. Join Spinderella, Scrabble, Speedy and her other brothers and sisters, as they teach the Spider Legs game……..using a potato! And a Fantastic Facts page, combining soccer facts with math questions, challenges readers to use their new number knowledge too. Spinderella is a fun addition to the “Blue Go Bananas” series for children. This series helps children who are getting ready to enter the world of chapter books.

Highly Recommended.

Tanya Boudreau is a Youth Services Librarian and Resource Librarian at the Cold Lake Public Library in Cold Lake, AB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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