This is the second children's book of writer/illustrator team Eileen Spinelli and Jane Dyer who have the ability to create instant classics in the children's book department. In Sophie's Masterpiece, thier second effort together, Sophie the spider is a web-spinner extraordinaire whose works go largly unappreciated by the residents of Beekman's Bordinghouse. By the time Sophie finds a comfortable home with a "young woman" on the thrid floor, she is very old and tired - but she finds the strength to spin one last work of art for the young woman's new baby. Spinelli has taken the cycle of life and death and created a story that, while ultimately sad at the end, does not dampen the wonderful feelings you have for Sophie's selfless and beautiful act. Dyer's watercolor illustrations are perfectly in tune with the story and are incredibly detailed from Sophie's shadow on the staircase to the individual strands of each of Sophie's webs! A truly beautiful book all the way around.

Sophie's Masterpiece: A Spider's Tale , written by Eileen Spinelli and illustrated by Jane Dyer is one of the very best children's book I have ever read.

The story concerns a spider named Sophie. Sophie doesn't just spin a web--she weaves extraordinary works of art. Everyone who knows her is in awe of her talents.

She strikes off on her own to a drab little boarding house where she takes up residence and weaves her wonderful webs--but none of the people there care for her webs--or for her, for that matter. Except for a boarder who is expecting a child. She welcomes Sophie into her room and as she knits clothes for the baby Sophie, now old and frail, weaves a special baby gift of her own.

Warm and touching without being maudlin, Sophie's Masterpiece is a kind and loving story with extraordinary illustrations the dazzle on their own yet blend perfectly with the tale.

I have given this book as a gift to many children and am told time after time that it soon ranks as those kids favorite book.

Sophie's Masterpiece is a masterpiece, indeed!

I recently bought this book for my daughter. We both love it.

Sophie the spider is more talented than most. Everybody knows that someday Sophie will spin a masterpiece. When she comes to that point in life where a spider must "strike out on her own" Sophie finds herself at Beekman's Boardinghouse. It's a dull, drab place that cries out for her talent!

But her efforts go unappreciated at every turn. She tries to spin curtains for the parlor, make a colorful suit for a sea faring captain, and weave new slippers for the cook. Each time she is discovered and greeted with disdain or fear.

Sophie climbs her way to the very top of the boarding house stairs and makes her way to the knitting basket of a young, pregnant woman. This time when she is discovered the woman only smiles. A now frail and elderly spider, Sophie watches as the woman knits a pair of booties and a sweater for her soon to be baby. But when the yarn runs short there will be no baby blanket. The landlady offers a rough, scratchy old quilt that Sophie has encountered on her journey through the boarding house. Sophie knows that for a baby's soft skin it will never do. Sophie knows she is the only one to remedy the situation.

So she sets out to weave a blanket for the child even though she is feeble and weak with age. She goes to the wide windowsill and spins a blanket with her own soft silk and moonlight, starlight, lullabyes, playful snowflakes, and other wondrous snatches of the lovely world. Just as the baby is born Sophie hears the cry of the newborn and right there spins in her very own heart (be prepared for your eyes to tear up). Sophie has created her masterpiece.

Is this spider reminicent of the loveable Charlotte? Yes, most certainly. Nothing wrong with that. We could use more selfless, giving, artistic spiders in the world, after all. The art is very different too. You would never imagine a spider being pictured in quite this way, but I feel it works.

The language is poetic and soft, gently leading the reader along to the conclusion. Be sure to have your child run their hand along the book's cover to "feel" Sophie's web, which is slightly raised and also "glimmers" when held in the light. Also check for fun details. Sophie uses a thimble for stool and a bobby pin for a cain. She weaves colorful stockings--eight in all, one for each spidery leg!

If you want a fun contrast read this book with The Spider and the Fly, the classic cautionary victorian-esque poem by Mary Botham Howitt newly illustrated by Tony Diterlizzi. The spider in that book is completely opposite of Sophie, but the message is equally wonderful in a completely different way (a caldecott honor). Children will have a blast contrasting the two spider characters! (And I might add that it's an excellent reminder that there are also both good and bad people in this world).

In addition to the great illustrations and wonderful text, the book tells an important story: that of a loving, modern -- working class -- urban family. I'm glad there's finally a book out there that shows janitors as hard working, caring parents.

As previously mentioned, this story is about a child putting her daddy "to bed". Both the illustrations and the theme of this book are warm and loving. For this reason, I think this book is a wonderful addition to every parents' bedtime routine.

Although my daughter is not yet two, she enjoys "Night Shift Daddy" as much as older children do. I disagree with the reviewer's statement that the "awkward drawings" distract from the story. Quite the opposite, I think the illustrations are beautiful. :-)

Reading your Editorial Review from Booklist discouraged me from looking for this book..Browsing through Bookhampton in Sag Harbor I found a copy staring up at me and picked it up out of curiosity. What, pray tell me was this reviewer talking about? As an artist (and father), I could not relate those real and sensitive faces to the review (i.e. "faces are awkwardly drawn" etc.) I was very moved by the universal feelings evoked by these special images. Far from distracting from the story, they deepened the emotional impact of this charming story of father and daughter..I am happy I stumbled on this beautiful book.

Have you noticed how many of the children's books at your local library focus on farms? :) This book is a nice contrast. Set in the city, it teaches colors by focusing on scenes that children who have grown up in the city will find comforting and familiar (e.g. gray for pigeons on skyscrapers; white for powdered sugar on donuts at the diner). For me, the book also somehow stirs fond memories of various places that we have visited on family vacations.

My three year old son loves this book. He has mastered the basic colors and this book gives him an opportunity to expand his knowledge with colors like copper and golden. The illustrations are great, with lots to see and talk about on every page. The text is rythmic and lyrical, although I would omit the line that reads (no litterbug, you). I am extremely disappointed that this book is out of print... I'll keep looking for it.

This book is wonderful. It uses words my daughter is now beginning to learn and understand, and reinforces it with pictures. I highly recommend it!

When the author's son, Sean, was about four, he got a new yellow shirt and thought that he was a banana. In this picture book, the author thinks of that incident and tells the story of a boy and his friend, Sam. The birthday boy gets a new yellow shirt from his Aunt Betty. He puts it on and he is a splashing duck, a roaring golden lion, a zooming taxi, a daffodil, a fish, and a lazy bug. He is many other things set in a variety of scenes, even a trumpet in a parade, and a thumping banana in a kitchen. As night falls, the shirt must be taken off, but it becomes something else that will illuminate the night.

Anne Mortimer does it again with this dear little book filled with her beautiful cat illustrations. The star of this story is a tabby kitten with a white bib and four white socks. We follow him through his busy day of mischief and exploration. The details and soft colors bring the kitten's world to life with such charm. Eileen Spinelli has written a text that can help to reasure any curious and mischievous little explorers that you may know that they are understood and cherished just as this lively kitten is.

Toddlers and preschoolers should enjoy this tale, perfect for naptime. The story follows a pussycat that chases rainbows and mice, and smells flowers. Tired after an adventurous day, the kitten crawls off to its basket for sleep - allowing its new mouse friend to snuggle alongside.

This gentle book, with its reassuring nature, can be of aid to young children who fear the dark or sleeping alone. It's comforting tone can help even the most frightened child. Mortimer has chosen relaxing and soothing colors, many in pastel shades, to guide the calming storyline. The quiet serenity of the art is augmented by the lack of harsh lines and angles. Libraries that offer a bedtime storytime will find this a good choice.

"Rise the moon/and lunar moth,/drawn to its lovely shine,/flits across the blossoms/of the dreamy moonflower vine..." Join the moon on its magical journey across the sky and watch the nightime world come alive. Meet the moonlit artist who "takes his brush to paint a bowl of light", the night-shift baker, a rooftop dancer, and the sleepy sailor "on the swaying schooner." See the sea turtles "launch themselves across a breezy dune", the bat, and the moon-awakened mouse. And hear the silver wolf "howl its ancient moonstruck song. Astronomers are having a "star-party on the soaring mountain slopes", a camper reads by moonlight, and a young mother and her sleeping baby "swings by moon-glow beneath the leafy boughs..." Eileen Spinelli weaves an enchanting nightime spell with this captivating lullaby. Her soothing, lyrical verse is filled with imagery and magic and complemented by Raul Colon's stunning artwork. Each illustration captures the wonders of the night in soft, dreamy, moonlit tones, and young and old alike will want to linger before turning the page. Perfect for preschoolers, Rise The Moon is a marvelous addition to any bedtime ritual. "So rise the moon,/so round and bright,/let its tender magic fall./Within its spell of splendor/we are/moon-hearted creatures/all."

Rise The Moon is a picturebook of poetry that combines simple, rhyming verse by Eileen Spinelli with a unique style of moody color artwork by Raul Colon, showing how the moon is seen by people and animals across the world. Nighttime colors and gentle, poetic verse make Rise The Moon a superb book for reading aloud to young folks at bedtime. A Night-shift baker/rolls a moon-shaped crust/for apple pie/as moony tomcat/yowls astop/an alley fence nearby.

It's hard to believe that anyone could write an interesting and informative book detailing the life and history of the cod fish, or more to the point, that it could hold your interest, but that's exactly what Mark Kurlansky has done. His fascinating and engaging narrative, based on his adult book, Cod: A Biography Of The Fish That Changed The World, explores this once plentiful fish's place in history, from the Vikings, Basques, and European explorers, to Colonial America, the slave trade, American Revolution, and the technological inventions of the twentieth century that changed fishing and processing forever. Written in an easy to read, conversational style, Mr Kurlansky's intriguing story is part biology, part history, part sociology, and is chock full of interesting fun facts, trivia, humorous anecdotes, maps, recipes, and a marvelous time line that runs through the entire book and puts all this information in perspective. S.D. Schindler's bright, bold, and charming artwork is clever and entertaining, and kids will enjoy poring over the busy illustrations, and finding all the wonderful, special details. Perfect for youngsters 8 and older, The Cod's Tale takes you on a whirlwind adventure, and a very unique thousand year journey with a most unromantic, though endearing fish. This is non-fiction for kids at its very best, and a book that definitely shouldn't be missed.

Eileen Spinelli and Keiko Narahashi have authored a year of nature in all its wonder. From the cold winter days of "...January dark, and dappled deep, teasing you, easing you, out of your cuddle-down sleep..." to the wet spring "...April rain, a silvery spray, puddling streets and sidewalks, splashing away..." to the cool autumn nights "...October moon, plump as you please, teetering on rooftops, leaping the trees..." and the white world of "...December snow hugging the hills, roller-coastering merry sleds, pillowing spills..." this dynamic duo takes the reader on a month by month adventure, as the year quickly passes by. Ms Spinelli's gentle, rhyming prose is engaging and entertaining, and begs to be read aloud. Each verse is enhanced by Ms Narahashi's expressive and thrilling watercolor illustrations. Together word and art captures a unique characteristic about each month, and brings it to life on the page. Perfect for youngsters 3-7, Her Comes The Year is a creative and evocative experience the whole family can share, and makes a wonderful addition to all home bookshelves.

Eileen Spinelli's Thanksgiving at the Tappletons' is a picture book suitable for reading aloud with older kids. A simple reminder of the true meaning of Thanksgiving is brought to light after a series of mishaps that any busy, modern family can identify with. Spinelli's humor and gentle touch is evident in this story, as it is in her Valentines' Day story, Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch. Both books are great for storytimes, home and classroom libraries.

She & I enjoy reading it aloud before bedtime. The book seemed to help her understand the context of love outside the family. My only concern is that Mr. Hatch's mood seems totally governed by outside influences, rather than him making choices about how he can present himself to the world. However, the message that you can really influence other people's mood when you are happy is a great one.

It's such a heartwarming story. It teaches you that you can be happy. I've read the book so many times! It's a great book that you'll love reading again and aagain.

This is a book about a man with seemingly no personal connections. He doesn't speak to or socialize with anyone. No one loves him because he is detached. But when a valentine package is delivered to his house with the message "somebody loves you" things begin to change. He begins to look at everyone differently - having no idea from whom the gift was given. Before you know it he has become a loving friend to many, and he is loved in return. He then finds out that the valentine package was delivered to him by mistake and returns to his old ways assuming that nobody does love him. But by this time he has made many new friends who care very much and inspire him with the message that somebody does love him after all!

This is a story that teaches that to receive love you have only to give it. A great book to share with young children.