Spi-ku: A Clutter of Short Verse on Eight Legs by Leslie Bulion (review)

The author/illustrator team that created Superlative Birds (BCCB 3/19) returns with an analogous offering on spiders. The brief verses, many of which are inspired by Japanese poetry forms, are partnered with high-word-count scientific explanations central to each topical spread, covering (in no particular order) such themes as silk production, mating, self-defense, predation, offspring rearing, and ever-thrillingly gross "food prep" liquefication. Notes on poetic form are on hand for readers who gravitate to the "A" in their STEAM curriculum, but the verses are also effective as mnemonic devices ("All spiders are arachnids./ But some arachnids/ mite not be spiders"), teasing wordplay ("An assortment of silks spun from spinnerets/ Into egg cases, molting pads, luncheon-nets"), and wry Gorey-esque bait for the spider grossout fans ("When frost kills Mom's deliveries/ In fall, we drink blood from her knees,/ She gives her all, she lives to please,/ Which does her in, by small degrees"). As in the previous title, Meganck's digital artwork balances light-hearted cartooning with reliably detailed anatomical drawing. A glossary, spider identification listed by topic, hints for spider hunting, a list of resources, and a chart of comparative spider sizes are also included.