Module 4
Nonfiction and Biography
Award Winning Book

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Montgomery, Sy. 2004. THE TARANTULA SCIENTIST. Ill. by Nic Bishop New York, NY. Houghton Mifflin Books. ISBN 0618147993

2.  PLOT SUMMARY
Tarantula Scientist tells you everything and anything you would need or want to know about tarantulas.  It is a diary of Sam Marshall and his experiences with different species of tarantulas.  It tells you stories about him being in the rainforest researching them and about his being in his lab researching them. In the book it discuss how tarantulas live, where they live, how they respond to humans and prey, and much more.  It also tells you the history of the tarantula, like where it got its name.  Sam gets very close and personal with these marvelous creatures.  He describes every detail about the spiders and what he is doing to get his information.  Sam also teaches us about the different types of tarantulas and where they live.  We see or can see tarantulas in different parts of the world, but they are different species.  He is very gentle when he is trying to see one or get any type of information from it.  He tells you how they don’t like to be handled by humans, but also don’t attack.  They only attack when they are hunting for prey.  It also discusses how some are killed for food or even killed to make souvenirs out of.  He could tell you many reasons why this isn’t okay and why we shouldn’t but for Sam is boils down to this “It’s really just apart of something awesome.”

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
WOW! The photographs in this book will blow your mind alone.  Also, the way he describes every little detail of what he is doing.  He uses similes and metaphors so you can really grasp what he is seeing and feeling.  When describing the size of the Goliath birdeater tarantula, which is the largest species of spider on the planet.  “How big might that be? Big enough that with outstretched legs, this spider could cover your whole face.  A large one could weigh as much as five mice.”(p.8)  He describes in ways that children can connect to and understand.  As he is describing this spider he is trying to lure it out of a hole.  He has such patience and is so calm when he does this.  The author does a good job at showing that he is not scared and loves what he does.  He speaks like this throughout the whole book.  It is as if he is telling a story the whole time, but really this is what he is actually doing when he is researching and exploring all these different types of tarantulas.

The photographs in this book are so real and telling.  It shows you all the parts of a tarantula and you can see all the tiny hairs as well.  The way it photographs the tarantulas and Sam are very real.  Nic does an amazing job at really showing you what Sam does when he is in the rainforest.  For example it shows a picture of Sam sleeping in his hammock. (p.37) I like this because it is not just teaching you about tarantulas it is showing you how it’s done.  In a lot of these pictures Sam is not posing for the photo he is actually working dirty and sweaty. Overall, this book does a phenomenal job at showing you the life of Sam Marshall and tarantulas.          

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Good Reads: “It is a perfect example of how someone followed their passion and made it into a career.”
Kirkus Review: “Sam Marshall loved animals, but disliked school—until a college research project on tarantulas made him realize that science is a process, not a set of answers. Montgomery and Bishop team up for another stellar excursion into the world of working scientists.”
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books: “…This would liven up a science curriculum no end, and it might also convince young readers to go beyond the elemental pleasures of ‘Ew, gross’ to the more sophisticated appreciation of ‘Wow, cool.”

5. CONNECTIONS
* This would be a good book for researching.  It would be best in grads 4 and up.
* I read somewhere how Sam turned to this because he didn’t love school, so it would also be neat to share with a kid who didn’t love school.  He might find this just as interesting as Sam did.
* Other books like this are THE SNAKE SCIENTIST or THE QUEST FOR THE TREE KANGAROO. He also has a book called FROGS and this is for the younger grades.