We do not tend to think of spiders as jumping much, but if you are a jumping spider your life depends on it. Jessica Lanan brilliantly takes us on a journey to understand the world of the jumping spider in her book Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider (Roaring Brook Press, 2023). Her book is exactly the kind of book I appreciate and want to share because it so aligns with my desire to have young readers understand, appreciate, and respect the natural world around them.
Comparing a jumping spider’s movement and sensory adaptations to humans using a young girl character we get to imagine being small, moving with the help of silk threads, jumping five times our body length, sensing vibrations and more. Lanan elegantly and clearly takes us into the tiny world of the jumping spider. The book itself is awe inspiring in its depiction of what and how this small creature survives, but then there is also a lot of backmatter. Older readers and adults can delve into more detail about the jumping spider’s vision and hearing, about their silk fiber, the tufts of hair on their feet, and how they jump. Then there’s a second spread of backmatter that goes over anatomy, life cycle, and courtship. And, there’s a third page (I love backmatter). The last page has a glossary and series of tips for finding and identifying spiders as well as some resources.
Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider is a lovely book that I think is well worth reading. In the end (I hope) young readers appreciate the spider’s place in our habitats and maybe, just maybe fall a teeny bit in love with Jumper.
Lisa Connors 