In the tradition of fun cumulative stories like The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, this joyful story shows how helping someone in need can sometimes fulfill needs of our own.

When Spider meets Shrew, they are both down on their luck. Spider’s web has blown away, and Shrew’s home has just been paved over. What happens when they decide to help each other out? They meet Bat, who is lonely for friends. Then they meet Possum, who can’t find his mom; Dog, who misses her puppies; and Pony, who is out of a job. Everyone has problems, but this quirky new community is ready to lend a hand in creative and surprising ways.

This is a joyful story about an unlikely group of friends finding compassion and community in each other. Deborah Kerbel’s humorous, quippy dialogue is perfectly paired with Genevieve Cote’s endearing illustrations of the animal characters.

Key Text Features

illustrations

speech bubbles

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7

With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3

Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4

Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.