Gregory, Josh. Wolf Spiders.

Gregory, Josh.  Wolf Spiders.  Scholastic/Childrens Press  2014  48p    $28.00  ISBN 978-0-531-23363-4  series: Nature’s Children  elem/ms  Nonfiction  VG-BNes   

     

Wolf spiders and some other species that are similar to them (nursery web spiders and tarantulas) are described in detail for young readers, with chapters on their physical appearance, their internal organs, their behavior and their history.  There are nearly 2,400 species of wolf spiders, and many of the features that distinguish them from web-spinning spiders are described, such as the fact that pregnant female spiders carry their egg sacs around with them on their spinnerets.  The photographs are excellent, the glossary is fairly good (although defining “organs” as simply “parts of the body” seems inadequate to this reviewer), the chapters are well organized and easy to navigate, there is a good habitat map, and there is a short list of references for further research and a good index.  This book will also appeal to reluctant readers at the middle-school level.

Summary: There are nearly 2,400 species of wolf spiders.  In this informative book for young children, they are described in some detail, with facts about their appearance, their internal organs, their behavior and their history.

Wolf spiders                                                --Carol Kennedy