One Creepy Street: The Spider on the Web

This was quite a good book, it has a good hidden story underlying too and hopefully if it is read by enough children the message will get through as the number of child grooming cases needs to be drastically reduced - this not only has a good moral to the story, it shows just how dangerous the world wide web can be.

As I see more and more children with their own Iphones, laptops, I-pads etc. I worry about their safety. They tend to be just a little too trusting.

This story is told in a fun and interesting way for children but with a serious message about child predators on the internet. Amnica, a young witch, plays on a gaming site where she "meets" several others. She meets a spider that seems really interesting to her. When she sets up a meeting with him, she does not tell her mother. Fortunately she has a pet bat with her to help her out. When her mom realizes she is missing and checks out her computer, she calls the police. This ends happily, but sends the message about safety.

I think this would be a great book to be in school and classroom libraries as a source to reinforce safety on the internet.

How do we teach our children to be aware of the dangers in the world and even online without terrifying them or making them distrustful of everyone? Try sharing a book like One Creepy Street: The Spider on the Web by Lee Jordan. With simply beautiful full-color illustrations to capture a younger child’s mind and interest, the story unfolds through the author’s words. Beneath it all is a hidden message that teaches safety. It is NOT up to a very young child to dig that message out, although it is possible, it is the job of those around to discuss the book and point them in the correct direction. A great way to spend quality time and practical teaching with a spin on the fun side!

Lee Jordan has created a wonderful family read with endless possibilities for family interaction. Highly recommended to open a young mind to reading and learning.

I received this copy from Black Rose writing in exchange for my honest review.

Publication Date: April 9, 2015 Publisher: Black Rose Writing ISBN: 9781612965253 Genre: Children's Fantasy/Fiction Page Count: 32 Available from: Amazon For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com

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I completely admire what this book is trying to do. As our children get on the internet at earlier ages all the time, we have to realize that we can't always be looking over their shoulder. They need to have some basic grounding in 'truths' about the Internet, which, unfortunately, includes the fact that you shouldn't trust people you meet on the Web. Books like this, which aim to put a concept very simply to young readers, are needed.

However, there were a couple things that were off-putting. First - and the only direct criticism of the content of the book- there was a line in the book that talks about how the mother and police officer only found out what was going on through emails the young girl had forgotten to delete. Why would she delete her emails? Doesn't that infer that she knew what she was doing was wrong? Is that a thought we even want to put in young children's head? "Its okay, we can just hide it so no one knows we were talking." Now, if that was something that the Spider told Annica (which I could believe) that's fine, but it needs to be made more clear.

Now, the illustrations were absolutely awesome. Brightly colored, they definitely capture and hold the attention. On the other hand, and here's my second thing that I'd change about the book, the font isn't a great choice. It doesn't stand out well against the background color its printed on, and while it might 'look nice' to some people, it can be a bit hard to read. I initially pulled this up on my phone and could barely read it. It could serve to be a bit darker and easier to focus on.

Also, the rhymes were, at times, a bit of a stretch/ little awkward. It might seem like I'm nitpicking here, but truth is its easy to remember things that rhyme smoothly and simply. Trust me on this. My 6 year old can remember some ridiculous rhymes. If it flowed a bit smoother, it might be more of a 'fun' read altogether and encourage kids to come back and re-read it.

Overall, though, a great message and fun illustrations combine to make this a book that many parents should consider getting for their kids.

I read this book with my daughter and she really enjoyed it - she thought the pictures and rhyming were great so I'd recommend it to other parents

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, 89% of sexual solicitations were made in either chat rooms or instant messages and 1 in 5 youth (ages 10-17 years) has been sexually solicited online (JAMA, 2001)
I liked the way this was presented (and note the wording of the title - 'on' the web, not 'in' it) - a poetic warning to young children that the world wide web does indeed have spiders of the most monstrous kind - the people who crawl along the threads looking for easy prey.

Predatory behavior towards children on the Internet is a serious problem, and sharing this nicely illustrated and safely scary story takes children though some of the ways these people can get to know children sufficiently to perhaps tempt them to meet irl (in real life)rather than simply in the virtual world. It's told in rhyming lines, grouped with amusing illustrations in bright colors, which describe the tricks that are used and the people who try to safeguard internet users from these people. Even witches aren't safe.

This represents a fun way to approach teaching your child(ren) how to think smartly when using the web, and how to be careful, because people are not always who they say they are. I liked this and I recommend it as a worthy read.

That was a good book, a good story and behind of it, a hidden story underlying.
Hopefully enough children will have the chance to read the book and if they pay the needed attention they will get the message. They will get just how dangerous the world wide web can be if we are not careful. If we dont pay attention. If we abuse his use!

Annica is playing an online game that has chat rooms. She is befriended by a person/spider in the game room. She decides to meet her new friend without telling anyone. Will Annica's parents find out what she is up to?

An excellent story to introduce children to the bad characters on the Internet. It gives parents an opportunity to discuss the dangers that can be found on the Internet. The fantastic colors of the illustrations make it a fun book to read about a very serious problem. A must buy and read for parents and anyone who works with children.

The world is a scarier place than when I grew up. This book helps parents explain dangers that they themselves never had to face.

A good book on being careful on social media. Because it's done as a cartoon, it's not as frightening as it could have been, but it definitely gets the message across. I'm starting to really like this series.

A very unique way to explain some internet dangers to kids. The characters are relatable and the point comes across very clearly.

A fun and solid children's story.
I'd like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.