Starred Review for Publishers Weekly

Howitt's 1829 cautionary poem of a fly's risky entanglement with her perfidious predator springs to cinematic life amid silver-sheened black-and-white illustrations by an artist well known for his work on the <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Magic: The Gathering trading cards. Gouache images that seem to glow in the dark deftly recall the silent film era, craftily luring in readers even before the tale's famous opener, " 'Will you walk into my parlor?' said the Spider to the Fly." An exterior view of a darkened mansion, its sole light coming from an attic window, gives way to a close-up of the same window as a petite dragonfly in flapper attire (complete with fringed dress, long gloves and flower-petal parasol) peers inside at Spider's lair: a Victorian dollhouse set amid cobwebby attic treasures. With an arsenal of Vincent Price expressions, the well-heeled Spider uses food and flattery to entice his guest into staying within his walls. Some of the text appears periodically against a framed black backdrop, à la silent movie captions, while a silvery web is progressively woven in the background. Finely detailed scenes foreshadow Fly's demise with subtle, Charles Addams–esque humor that, while it may escape younger readers, will tickle the Lemony Snicket set. (In one scene, previous insect victims, now ghosts with their feet hovering above the floor, hold up a copy of <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">The Joy of Cooking Bugs, in a vain warning to Fly.) DiTerlizzi has spun a visual treat that young sophisticates and adults alike will enjoy. Ages 6-up. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Oct.)

ALA Booklist (Tue Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2002)

There's no question about the villain in this version of Howitt's familiar 1829 poem about the vain, silly fly and the cunning spider who does her in. The smarmy visage of the spider leering at Miss Fly, who is sweetly attired in fringed flapper garb, says plenty. The melodrama is wonderful: Miss Fly--hand on forehead, hand on heart, two hands outstretched in protest (and two legs, of course, makes six)--declares, Oh no, no . . . Kind sir, that cannot be. / I've heard what's in your pantry and I do not wish to see. Diaphanous ghosts of Spider's previous victims float nearby, but they're unable to change the fate of Miss Fly, who falls victim to Spider's flattery and her own pleasing reflection in a bottle-cap looking glass. Older children will be most likely to catch the intricacies in the monochromatic artwork--the various poses of the multiple appendages, the butterfly-wing curtains, and other delightfully creepy buggy details. Only a few will think past the story and wonder about the fact that most spiders are female.

Horn Book (Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2003)

Inspired by film noir and the illustrations of Edward Gorey and Charles Addams, DiTerlizzi spins his own stylish version of Mary Howitt's cautionary 1829 poem. As a debonair spider (vaguely resembling Clark Gable) lures a doe-eyed fly in a cloche and flapper dress into his lair, ghosts of the spider's past prey flit about. Black-and-white illustrations with a silvery sheen capture the dance with cinematic flair.

Kirkus Reviews

" Will you walk into my parlor?' / said the Spider to the Fly." Howitt's 1829 cautionary poem is realized here in full cinematic fashion. Delightfully ghoulish full-bleed black-and-white spreads are rendered in gouache and pencil, and reproduced in silver-and-black duotone, resulting in images that recall the slightly fuzzy-edged figures from old black-and-white horror movies. The typeface and occasional framed text pages heighten this effect by evoking silent-movie titles. The setting is a dustily gothic attic in which DiTerlizzi's ( Alien and Possum: Friends No Matter What , p. 494, etc.) "camera" never rests, zooming in, out, up, and down in a dazzling series of perspectives as a top-hatted and bespatted spider romances a naive flapper fly. Her protestations in the face of his overtures grow ever weaker, and despite the warnings of the ghostly figures of past victims (one brandishes a knife and fork while another points urgently at The Joy of Cooking Bugs ), she goes to her inevitable doom. The illustrations embrace the primness of the poem—the wide-eyed fly is the very picture of a bygone innocence—but introduce a wealth of detail that adds a thick layer of humor. Aside from the aforementioned ghosts, evidence of the spider's predilections abounds: in his parlor, he relaxes with his feet up on a very dead ladybug stool with X's for eyes. A tongue-in-cheek "letter" from the spider follows the poem, in which he exhorts readers to "be advised that spiders are not the only hunters and bugs are not the only victims." This cautionary intrusion serves to explicate the metaphor for concretely minded readers, but the message is not likely to diminish their pleasure in the grisly doings one bit. (Picture book. 5-9)

School Library Journal (Sun Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2002)

Gr 1-6-Most people are familiar with Howitt's poem, but DiTerlizzi's art raises this hackneyed classic to a new level. Rendered in black-and-white gouache and pencil, then reproduced in silver-and-black duotone, the paintings have a spooky quality perfectly suited to retelling this melancholy tale. Ms. Fly, with her whimsical flower umbrella and Roaring '20s attire, captures the flavor of an old-time Hollywood heroine. Her nemesis, seated on his Victorian chair, is dressed like a pasha in silk robe and slippers (six, of course) or resplendent in tails, top hat, and spats; he is clearly a dastardly fiend cloaked in splendid apparel to dazzle his victim. Wispy, transparent, ghostly shapes haunt the eerie mansion; the white print on the black pages stands out against the shadows creeping across each spread. All of these elements foreshadow the fly's untimely demise. With its tragic ending, heavy moralizing, and sophisticated artwork, this book will appeal to older children as well as to adult fans of old horror movies. This title is worth purchasing for its valuable artwork alone.-Laurie Edwards, West Shore School District, Camp Hill, PA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.