Kirkus Reviews

The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it's his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte's Web ), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: "Never fall asleep in a shoe.")—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, "just like me and Fly," if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 3-Children who enjoyed Diary of a Worm (HarperCollins, 2003) will be enchanted by this artistic team's latest collaboration. This time, Spider is the star. Through his humorous diary entries, readers learn about typical events in the life of a young spider. When Spider's mom tells him he's getting too big for his skin, he molts. Fly's feelings are hurt by a thoughtless comment from Daddy Longlegs, and Spider tries to help. He is concerned that he will have to eat leaves and rotten tomatoes when he has a sleepover with Worm. Spider's school doesn't have fire drills; it has vacuum drills ("-vacuums eat spiderwebs and are very, very dangerous"). Grampa tells him that spider-fly relations have improved over the years and shares the secret of long life-don't fall asleep in shoes. The amusing pen-and-ink and watercolor cartoons, complete with funny asides in dialogue balloons, expand the sublime silliness of some of the scenarios.-Beverly Combs, Webb Middle School, Garland, TX Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Horn Book (Sat Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2006)

Worm's good friend Spider (Diary of a Worm) writes his own diary, showing our world from the arachnid point of view. Cronin spins a story with threads from a schoolchild's everyday world woven into the physiology of a spider--as when he brings his old molted skin for show-and-tell. Visual jokes abound in Bliss's warm, soft illustrations.

ALA Booklist (Mon Feb 06 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Bliss' pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations show an intimate sense of Spider, Fly, and others in this humorous sequel to Diary of a Worm (2003). Spider is sweetly reflected in the drawings, and narrator Bliss gives Spider an earnest little voice, full of unabashed wonder and emotion. Grampa's pleasantly craggy tones will likely give listeners a giggle. The pacing is slow enough to allow youngsters to follow along but not so slow that it seems labored. Bliss reads the whole text, including the funny dialogue balloons that accompany the illustrations; this might confuse some kids who aren't paying close attention to the book. Well-placed sound effects add humor and flesh out the production, making this a most pleasurable package.

Starred Review for Publishers Weekly

Cronin and Bliss repeat the comic ingredients that made <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Diary of a Worm so successful in this rib-tickling sequel. This time the diary is written by Worm's friend Spider and filled with similar verbal high jinks, deadpan humor and visual jokes that offer readers a whimsical glimpse of the world from a small creature's point of view. Endpapers feature photos of Spider's family as well as his favorite book (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Charlotte's Web), his discovery of a "neat sculpture!" (a toilet bowl) and a playbill from his school's production of "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" (a review blurb by Worm says, "<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">You'll dig this play"). Children will relate to the book's droll humor, as when Spider goes to the park with his sister ("We tried the seesaw. It didn't work") or when he takes his molted skin for show-and-tell. A slight story line about the tension between Spider's friendship with Fly and his Grampa's prejudice against all six-legged bugs threads together the amusing vignettes. (When Grampa says, "Without spiders, insects could take over the world," Bliss features a menacing alien bug as President of the United States.) This endearing book delivers a gentle message that comes through when Spider muses, "I wish that people wouldn't judge all spiders based on the few spiders that bite. I know if we took the time to get to know each other, we would get along just fine. Just like me and Fly." Ages 4-8. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Aug.)