Product Description
Someone is building a large, fancy house down the street from the Aldens'--a house shielded by a tall stone wall. The only way to approach the house is through an iron gate decorated with huge black widow spiders! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A little mystery (but not much)
This was an okay mystery. It was a little obvious at times, and basically solveable before the end, but left a few twists and turns that kept it interesting. The boxcar children decide to help their new neighbors move in next door. Everything about the neighobrs is mysterious: From the strange gothic style house, to the front gate with the spider designs, to the moving boxes with the mysterious emblems on them and the neighbors extreme interest in spiders! The Boxcar children become determined to uncover the neighbors strange secrets! ... Read more

Product Description
2002 - Rosen Pub - Hardcover - The Black Widow (Library of Spiders Series ) - By Alice B. McGinty - School Library Book - Inside clean, bright, spine solid, pages tight, no tears - Elementary Reader - Classic - Collectible ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Book for grandchild
It was a used book.That is what I expected and what I got. "Nuff said". Thanks. ... Read more

Product Description
Key Stage 1 work on life processes should be related to pupils' knowledge of animals in the local environment. Children should understand that animals move, feed, grow, use their senses and reproduce; that living things can be grouped according to observable similarities and differences; and that there are different kinds of animals in the local environment. This look at black widow spiders is one of a series focusing on minibeasts. It covers size, appearance, birth and reproduction, growth, feeding, predators, life-span, movement, and different types. The book includes simple questions based on the information provided. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Neat Series for Emerging Readers
This is our first encounter with the Bug Book/Heinemann First Library series and I have to say, it's quite an interesting little read ideally geared toward emerging readers (5-7).Each page contains a minimum of one large sized photo which serves to give the reader an up close look at the black widow spider and also often helps to illustrate what the text is explaining.The text itself is informative and brief (as it should be for emerging readers) and it takes up no more than 1/3 of the page (it is also fairly large making it double easy for emerging readers to be able to read this text on their own)."Chapters" include basic information like size, habitat, mating, food, and even a section briefly detailing how black widow spiders are special. One niggle of a complaint I feel needs addressing, the text does have a glossary, but there are a number of terms that emerging readers might not understand as they are going through which means that as often as 4 times per page the reader may have to flip to the back to consult the glossary...my recommendation is to have your child/student read the glossary first and discuss the terms a bit BEFORE reading the text so that he or she doesn't have to flip back and fourth as much as emerging readers that are still struggling with retaining what they read, this could be problematic.

Overall, I think this (and probably other book in this series) is a fine starting place for emerging readers (ages 5-7) to learn more about black widow spiders.Included in the book is a glossary, a photo diagram (labeling the body parts of the spider, cutely named "black widow spider map"), additional reading (very brief) and even an index (also quite brief...but given that the book is only 32 pages, that sees appropriate).I give Black Widow Spiders 4 stars and my son looks forward to reading more in this series.
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Product Description
Superspecial mystery with games & activities ... Read more

Product Description
Examines the physical characteristics, behavior, and natural environment of the black widow spider. ... Read more

Product Description
Describes physical characteristics, the habitat, babies, trapping of food, and defense methods of this member of the cobweb weavers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Basic black widow spider book with excellent photographs.
The best parts of this book are the first-rate close-up photography and the bold-type vocabulary builders.While technically weak/simplistic, the information provided is accurate.If there's any serious shortcoming, it's in not emphasizing the danger these creatures pose for small, curious children.Gram-for-gram, black widow venom is more toxic than rattlesnake venom, and the black widow aggressively attacks any perceived threat, such as a child poking a web--especially if the widow is guarding an egg sack.The book also fails to mention that immature black widow spiders aren't black with red hourglass, but are nonetheless competently toxic. ... Read more

Product Description
Describes the physical characteristics, habits, and natural environment of the shy but poisonous (female only) black widow spider. ... Read more

Product Description
Some people are terrified of spiders, while many more are fascinated by them. Read about how spiders turn from eggs into adults, and why spiders spin their webs and how they do it. Find out about poisonous spiders and the harmless ones you may find anywhere in your home. ... Read more

Product Description
A detailed manual (with 15 photographs and illustrations)on how to avoid the stings and bites of the Southwest's dangerousarachnids-and what to do if you don't! A homeowner's guide toeradicating these critters without resorting to pesticides. The bookincludes a detailed description of the history and habits of thecritter, a section on the Black Widow of interest to residents outsidethe Southwest, an extensive scientific bibliography, and a fulllisting of the nation's Poison Control Centers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Not worth the paper it is printed on
This book is an example of an inflated ego believing it is an expert on everything. The author claims expertise due to the fact that he lives in an area where scorpions also live. He writes:

'Ten years of living in the high desert country of Arizona provided my background experience for studying ways of handling the scorpion menace. Let's be honest: they are a menace to the comfort and safety of adults and to the lives of children, the elderly or infirm and all friendlier domestic life forms-our pets.'

The author describes scorpions as 'killing machines' and 'lethal', and yet in the final pages he admits that no scorpion has killed anyone in the United States within the last thirty years! Meanwhile we read in the newspaper many times a month about how one of our 'friendlier domestic life forms-our pets' has taken the life of yet another human.

Oddly the author recommends, since scorpions are so 'lethal', that every one (along with cobras, water mocassins, etc.) be exterminated. According to the numbers (scorpions - 0, dogs - manyfold) if we were to follow his logic we should exterminate our dogs instead (not that I'm a fan of that idea either).

The book shows many pictures of scorpions identified as the 'lethal' bark scorpion. Instead, the pictures are of a Vaejovis species, a different, and essentially harmless type. Further, though the scorpion is pictured 'on the porch', 'on the ceiling' etc., the images are clearly of a dead scorpion whose legs are in identical position throughout. No doubt the picture of it on the ceiling was taken on a sheet of paper then the image was turned upside down. The captions on the photos are about as accurate as the rest of the 'information' in the book.

We currently keep several thousand live scorpions of various species. I have surveyed the bark scorpions of the Grand Canyon on scientific expedition. We deal with live scorpions on a daily, sometimes hourly basis. When asked her opinion of the book my girlfriend read it through carefully and finally pointed to a small section and said,'This paragraph isn't so bad'. Unfortunately it was the only one.

If you want a book chock full of misinformation, hype, and paranoia, this book is for you. If you'd like an accurate depiction of scorpions look elsewhere. I'd recommend buying this book only if one is already quite familiar with scorpions and is interested in a bit of humor in the manner that old black and white movies about arachnids are often so bad they're good.

The only reason I gave this book two stars instead of one is because it made us laugh several times and one can never have too much laughter.

Oddly the author is apparently a psychiatrist yet admits a virulent phobia of scorpions. Physician, heal thyself. And stop writing 'books'.

This book was so awful and I hardly know where to begin.
Near the beginning of the book the author makes it painfully obvious he knows next to nothing about scorpions or ecosystems with his statement that "The world does not need scorpions" and goes on to suggest that snakes, scorpions, spiders, etc. should be wiped from the face of the earth.In truth, scorpions eat insects which are far more damaging to human health and economics than scorpions ever were.

Throughout the book scorpions are frequently referred to as "poisonous" when in fact they are venomous, and in a few places it even refers to scorpion "bites" instead of stings (scorpions do not bite).These may seem to be minor details but considering the author's credentials such oversights are a little disturbing.

The book was also inconsistent and confusing.The first few chapters make scorpions out to be most dreadful creatures that "wish you no good" and exist only to torment humans, then the author goes on to explain you don't need to fear them, and then reiterates how horrible they are.

The section on black widows was not nearly as bad as the scorpion section, but the author does recommend using pesticides to eliminate them.The hazards of using pesticides in and around the home far outweigh the hazards of having black widows present.Black widows, like scorpions, feed on those insects which pose a greater threat to human health, for instance the mosquitoes which carry West Nile Virus.Even if you cannot bring yourself to catch the spider in a cup for release outside, they are easy enough to squash with a flyswatter and avoid the lingering poisons of pesticides.

As someone who very much likes spiders and scorpions and keeps them as pets (including the "deadly" and "poisonous" species the book focuses on), I found much of this book very offensive and was often quite saddened by it.I will admit however that the chapter on "scorp proofing", done without pesticides,actually contains some pretty good advice. The rest of the book, however, contains little more than hype and misinformation.

Interesting and full of good ideas
This book has some good suggestions on ways to keep these pests out ofyour house.Written in an informal, easy-to-read style. ... Read more

Product Description
They have red marks on their bellies. They spin messy webs. And they got their name from their unusual mating habits. Look inside to discover what's going on in the world of black widow spiders. ... Read more