The Very Busy Spider was published by Philomel Books in 1984, and it introduced a new dimension to Carle’s picture books: touch. The spider’s web is printed in raised lines that children can trace with their fingers, making the book a tactile as well as a visual and narrative experience. As the story progresses and the web grows, the raised lines become more complex, until the complete web on the penultimate page is a detailed geometric structure that a child can explore by touch.
The story follows the same cumulative structure as The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Brown Bear: each farm animal in turn invites the spider to do something (“Neigh! Neigh!” said the horse. “Want to go for a ride?”), and the spider ignores them all, too busy spinning her web. The repetition builds expectation — children anticipate each refusal — and the payoff comes when the web is complete and catches a fly, rewarding the spider’s patience and focus.
The book is less about the spider than about the virtue of concentration. In a world of distractions (each animal offers a different temptation — riding, rolling in mud, eating grass, running in the meadow), the spider stays focused on her task and completes it. This is a lesson that resonates with children, who are constantly being told to focus, and the spider’s wordless determination is more persuasive than any verbal instruction.
Carle’s collage illustrations are characteristically bold, with each farm animal filling a page in the vivid colors of his tissue-paper technique. The spider, by contrast, is small and dark — a deliberate understatement that emphasizes the quiet persistence of her work.
Collecting The Very Busy Spider
First edition (Philomel Books, New York, 1984): Pictorial boards with raised-line printing.
Market values:
- First edition, fine: $50–$200
- Signed copies: $100–$400
- Later editions: $5–$10