Spider Summer (ITP Nelson, 1998) is a realistic fiction novel for ages 9 – 12. It’s a story about a boy named Luke and his pet tarantula, and how they catch a thief who lives in their own apartment building. It’s also a story about keeping a new pet secret from your parents (because your dad has arachnophobia) and adjusting to life in a new place—Luke lives in London, England, but he wishes he were back home in Wakaw, Saskatchewan, Canada.
When I wrote this story, we were living temporarily in London. I had two small children and was terribly homesick for my family back home, and some of Luke’s homesickness definitely reflects my own emotional climate at the time.
Tarantulas do make good pets—I know this for a fact! I had a Mexican Red Leg for many years, and found her to be docile, quiet, and tidy. When I taught elementary school, she was a favorite classroom addition.
This is a picture of Herbie:
The bite of the Mexican Red Leg isn’t dangerous—somewhat like a bee sting—but Herbie (as she was lovingly named after the jazz musician Herbie Hancock) was never known to harm anyone. My students used to like catching grasshoppers for her in the fall and spring. She would put the insects to sleep, inject them with a tenderizer, and then slurp out their insides—mmmm, grasshopper milkshake! Herbie lived to be 25 years old and is buried on our acreage.
This is the apartment block
Luke lived in.
This is the building Luke's
babysitter lived in.
A london Cab