Growing With Science Blog

Mother spiders and their offspring seem to be a theme lately. Let’s find out more about them.

Right about the same time I found this mother cellar spider carrying her babies last week,

I also found this mother black widow guarding her egg sacs.

Female spiders often lay eggs in sacs, and sometimes guard them afterward. Black widows are also known to create multiple egg sacs, often three.

Some spiders, like wolf spiders, carry their babies on their backs for a while. The female cellar spider above was the first I had seen carrying her offspring in her legs.

To learn more, there are a number of great picture books about spiders. The first two are about baby spiders in particular.

Sneaky, Spinning Baby Spiders by Sandra Markle

As you can tell from the cover, this book has fantastic close up photographs. It covers spiders from throughout the world. Look for my in depth review at Bouncing Baby Spiders

Up, Up and Away by Ginger Wadsworth and Patricia J. Wynne (Illustrator)

This newly released book has a totally different feel, although it covers a similar topic. Be aware, if your children are sensitive, that the trailer shows an illustration of one spider eating another and a near miss by a predator.

Nic Bishop Spiders by Nic Bishop

Edit: Just found a cool trailer for this one too. If you are interested in how the make the photos for the book, take a look.

Time For Kids: Spiders!
by Editors of Time for Kids

Are You a Spider? by Tudor Humphries

These books are always wonderful, and I love how she brings the child into the story by comparing what humans do to what spiders do.

Spinning Spiders (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) by Melvin Berger and S. D. Schindler

Spectacular Spiders by Linda Glaser

The Magic School Bus Spins A Web: A Book About Spiders
by Joanna Cole, Jim Durk (Illustrator), Bruce Degan (Illustrator)

Spiders (Live Oak Readalong) and CD by Gail Gibbons

The original is apparently not available, but Gail Gibbons books are always well done.

For older kids, try:
Uncover a Tarantula: Take a Three-Dimensional Look Inside a Tarantula! by David George Gordon

For more information, see my review Tarantulas Inside and Out.