New Endings

The Spider and the Fly

Written by: Mary Howitt

Illustrated by: Tony DiTerlizzi

Published by: Simon & Schuster, 2012

40 Pages 

Poetry

   The spider wants the fly to step into his parlor, but the fly knows exactly what the spider is up to. However, the spider is persistent and says flattering things to attract the fly in. Unfortunately for the spider, the fly buzzes away. The spider doesn't mind though. He knows the fly will return.

   DiTerlizzi illustrates this poem from the 19th century to make it much more intriguing for young readers. He uses black and white pencil drawings to create a dark and eerie feeling for the audience. The characters are exquisitely detailed, and the shadows create

a three-dimensional, realistic look to every 

page.

   I would use this book in a third- grade classroom to teach children how a poem is set up. We would go through each stanza, and annotate the text to make it easier to understand. Some of the words are Old English, so young readers might have a difficult time comprehending the text. Then, I would let the students create an ending stanza with a different outcome.

   To assist special needs students, I would partner students up so they could work together to create the new stanza.