Author Description

A spider is scared of the dark and can't wait for the sun to rise. Her solution? Ask for the help of a musical cricket. This decision sends her on a quest of difficulty and a surprising new friendship. Spider accepts every challenge and funny mishaps occur as she strives to reach her goal. While many children's books follow the theme "Be content with who you are," the Wantstobe collection focuses on how "Accomplishing hard things is worth it." Using imaginative metaphor, this book reveals the changes that occur when tough obstacles are overcome to reach a goal. But most children don't think about the metaphor, they just enjoy the story, make up their own impossible animals, and view hard work and goal setting more positively. Each book in the series is unique in its main character, setting and obstacles, the pattern of goal setting, overcoming problems through sheer grit, and a magical ending is repeated. The illustrations are in bright vivid color whether depicting animals in a jungle, a forest or a swamp. This book is fun as a read aloud to children ages 2-7 and self read for most children ages 7-10.