Sweet Dreems Children's Books

Readers' Favorite Books Review, by Fiona Ingram

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Gregory the Spider: Romping through the Year is an enchanting children’s picture book written by Cynthia Dreeman Meyer and illustrated by Marina Saumell. Gregory the spider takes young readers on a pictorial romp through the year, with significant dates and days of celebration cleverly woven into the full page, full colour illustrations. Gregory invites young readers to follow him as he turns the first page in a lovely adventure of seasonal fun. His friends, Max and Molly Mouse, take part in each month’s romp, and Gregory features significantly, often getting into the spirit of things by wearing a costume or hat. Through sunshine, rain, wind, snow, and ice, Gregory shows youngsters the seasons and significant holidays, special days, or moments in the calendar.

First, the illustrations are absolutely beautiful, adorable, and detailed. Readers will definitely spend some time poring over the images and making discoveries. The images are also deceptively simple because, as youngsters read with an adult, they can be encouraged to spot the clues hidden in each picture to indicate the name of the month and other fun features that make the month special. A check list at the end of the book will help young sleuths. The author invites readers to investigate further on her website for a full list of items to find in each picture, and their significance. However, it will be good for parents or teachers to let young readers try for themselves to find the important items and to guess the significance of each month.

The story itself is told quite simply, and possibly because not much wording is needed. The rhyme reminded me somewhat of the familiar Incy Wincy Spider nursery rhyme. The illustrations have a kind of energy that “romps” along as well as one turns the pages. Gregory is a surprise main character because spiders don’t usually end up in the spotlight. Gregory is a delightful “narrator” with his antics, his appropriate costumes, and his expressive eyes! The captivating cover promises a treasure trove of interesting details inside and young readers will not be disappointed. A lovely storybook to share with family members, or as a gift to a young reader; a book that will be read over and over again!

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Kirkus Review

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Gregory the Spider invites kids to follow him through the calendar and learn what’s special about each month in this children’s picture book.

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Last seen in the background to illustrations in Meyer’s Merry Stirring Mice: Santa’s Secret Team (2014), Gregory the Spider returns to star in a book of his own. Through the 12 months of the year, friendly Gregory and his pals—including a white human family and a mouse family—explore what’s special about each month. In January, for example, on an icy day, a book on Martin Luther King Jr. pokes out of a child’s backpack; inside a house, a girl kneels by the window with a warm drink in her hand, and outside, a mouse pair ice-skates on a puddle. Each page offers I-Spy animals, objects, and month names to notice or find hidden in the illustrations, possibly woven into Gregory’s web. A checklist is appended with some explanations. For example, a humpback whale and her baby are shown in August, that month being the best time to see them on the U.S. East Coast. Another nice recurring feature are children’s backpacks, which often have month-related books visible, such as one on MLK for January. The illustrations are well-detailed, colorful, and appealing, and although most human characters are white, there is a gesture toward diversity in the December scene, which shows cookies for Santa and an Elf on the Shelf, but also a dreidel.

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Whimsy and hidden objects add much to the appeal of this month-by-month journey.

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Author's comment on the review vis-a-vis diversity:  There are eight children depicted in the book: two white children (who live in the house that appears several times in the book), two black children, two Asian children, and two children whose Halloween costumes (in the October illustration) obscure their race.  The December scene also includes a Mkeka for Kwanzaa, and there are many additional items celebrating diversity in the book!  

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Publishers Weekly Review

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"Meyer brings back the spider and mouse family previously seen in Merry Stirring Mice: Santa's Secret Team, in a tour of the seasons set to the tune of 'The Itsy Bitsy Spider.'  The song repeats three times as Meyer moves through the months, each of which gets its own spread, highlighting holidays and seasonal changes.  'Out came the sun and dried up all the snow. /Then April wind and showers began to blow and blow,' writes Meyer as Saumell shows a leprechaun looking on grumpily as Gregory juggles his gold; on the following spread, the mice make their way through a rainstorm under umbrellas made from flowers and acorn caps.  Saumells' illustrations have a painterly, almost three dimensional presence though Gregory, with his oversize green eyes, looks cartoonish among the other characters.  The illustrations are packed with details, however, and a closing list highlights items and animals for readers to seek out, along with the names of the months, which are hidden in the images.  It's a cheery jaunt through the months of the year.  Ages 4-8."

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Readers' Favorite Book Review, by Jack Magnus

Gregory the Spider doesn’t have a favorite month; he loves them all. In this brightly colored and cheerful book that explores those things that make each month special, children and their caregivers will have the opportunity to find references to holidays, seasonal weather, and other exciting hidden treasures, including the cleverly disguised month that Gregory happens to be romping through on that page. Meyer includes a checklist in the back of her book to help readers make sure they haven’t missed anything important -- but there’s even more to be discovered by working with both the book and Meyer’s full list of items and their significance, which can be found on the website she lists on that page.

There’s a lot more to be had from reading Cynthia Dreeman Meyer’s children’s picture book, Gregory the Spider: Romping through the Year, than your usual children’s reading fare. Each page is a treasure house of facts, natural history and other items to delight and amaze. I began looking forward to the backpacks I found on several pages that had books with titles such as Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks’ Life, and Susan B. Anthony. Then there were the birds: a Snowy Owl, Bald Eagle and Pileated woodpecker -- and that’s just a small sample of the wonders of nature to be found in this deceptively slender book. Each page informs as it delights, and I can easily see young readers spending hours happily chasing the seasons with this marvelous and friendly spider. Gregory the Spider: Romping through the Year is most highly recommended.