Naturalist Suzy's Book Pick: 'Walter's Wonderful Web'

I stumbled upon “Walter’s Wonderful Web” while looking for books about insects for Plum Creek Nature Center’s latest exhibit, “What’s Bugging Belva?” I instantly fell in love with the crayon-drawn illustrations. Walter’s big eyes and little smile make it easy to make this spider your friend.

Photo by Suzy Lyttle

The story, by Tim Hopgood, follows a little spider trying to make the perfect web. He tries all sorts of different shapes but cannot figure out which one will hold up to the whooshing wind. I believe this is a good example of perseverance in problem solving and not giving up until you find something that works.

This book is for young readers and is a great introduction to shapes. Each page has Walter making his web into a different shape — a rectangle, a diamond, a circle and so on.

The illustrations are attractive but simple enough for you to re-create at home for further learning opportunities. The last page reviews the shapes and gives interactive question prompts to ask young readers: which shape is which and how many sides does it have.

Hopgood also has two more books: “Hooray for Hoppy,” which focuses on the five senses, and “Wow! Said the Owl,” which focuses on colors.