Spider in the Well

Written and illustrated by Jess Hannigan

Katherine Tegen Books (An Imprint of HarperCollins)

978-0-063289475

48 pp.

Ages 4-8

March 2024

 

The people of Bad Göodsburg have a problem: their wishing well is broken. The newsboy who delivers the papers–and sweeps the chimneys, delivers the milk, and shines the shoes–is tasked with one more job: find out what is wrong with the well. And when he hears about the charitable wishes of the baker, the doctor, and the shopkeeper, he is determined to ensure those wishes are granted.

From Spider in the Well, written and illustrated by Jess Hannigan

Making his way to the well, the boy learns that a spider in the well has been responsible for the well not working. But, though the spider was just being a spider, building a web that happens to catch the coins, it's what he reveals to the newsboy that truly gets the boy irate and screaming, "Unbelievable!" and demanding justice.

From Spider in the Well, written and illustrated by Jess Hannigan

But what justice needs to be achieved? And how will the town's newsboy and lackey ensure that righteousness prevails?

Without giving away the story of Spider in the Well, let me assure readers that this is more than a cautionary tale about being careful what you wish for. And it's not because wishes might be ill-advised. It's because people and their wishes are not always benevolent. Sometimes wishes are selfish and rooted in vanity, greed, and worse, and no one wants to be seen as less than virtuous. The fine citizens of Bad Göodsburg hide behind false virtues and are taken down by a spider and a boy who may be or may not be similarly ethically challenged.

From Spider in the Well, written and illustrated by Jess Hannigan

Jess Hannigan's tale of wishes gone wrong has the tone of a fable or even a fairy tale. It's told with a host of archetypes, from the self-righteous townspeople to the put-upon boy who overcomes unjust treatment to be rewarded in the end. There's even the anthropomorphic spider who helps the boy triumph. And for each one of these characters, Jess Hannigan gets the voices right, and gives the story a tone of reparation rather than of grifting. (You'll see what I mean when you read the ending.)

From Spider in the Well, written and illustrated by Jess Hannigan

Hamilton's Jess Hannigan is an illustrator–this is her first picture book as author-illustrator–and her digital artwork, strong in shape and colour, makes the story even more powerful. By creating characters and scenes that are both simplified and complex in content and perspective, Jess Hannigan draws us into the story and helps us to see the circumstances as the boy does. She has a striking style of soft but bold lines that create tension while keeping the reader sympathetic to the boy, something that is more easily achieved by drawing the townspeople as oddly shaped and weirdly coloured.

 

So, if there's a moral to the story of Jess Hannigan's Spider in the Well, it's to be careful what you wish for because you never know who may be listening. On the plus side, sometimes one person's wishes result in just rewards for another. Just ask the newsboy of Bad Göodsburg, now happily retired.

• • • • • • •

Consider checking out one of several book launches Jess Hannigan will have in Ontario for Spider in the Well.

 

Thursday, March 21, 2024

6:30 PM

Type Books Junction

2887 Dundas St. W., Toronto

 

Sunday, April 7, 2024

1 PM

Epic Books

226 Locke Street S., Hamilton

Bad Pirate

by Kari-Lynn Winters

Illustrated by Dean Griffiths

Pajama Press

978-1-927485-71-2

32 pp.

Ages 5-8

May, 2015

Of course Augusta Garrick wants to be a good pirate.  Her father is Captain Barnacle Garrick and he was all the things a good pirate should be: saucy, bold and selfish.  In other words, he was bad.  He has no problems tying up traitorous crew and making them walk the plank (though Augusta rescues them in her rowboat below).  Or fighting off a giant octopus. Or yelling at the crew for helping an older member.

So one night she decides to do something saucy, bold and selfish: she tosses out the wooden peg leg of Scully, the one-eyed pit bull who never lets Augusta get away with any kindnesses.  But the next morning a brewing storm demands Scully's attention to the main sail, and he can't climb!  Will someone be "feedin' the fishes" for that snafu?  Will it be Scully, Augusta or the whole crew when the ship sinks?

You know Kari-Lynn Winters will spin a great yarn, which she has, and it’s a rollicking good one of life on the high seas, living with barnacle-hardened sea dogs (literally) and a father-daughter relationship like no other.  There’s learning about being oneself and accepting others' strengths as important, even if different. The text is salted with the voice of pirates–though nicely scrubbed for young ears and eyes–and the fluency of a sea shanty.  And Dean Griffiths makes sure that his bold illustrations transport the reader to the swaying decks of that pirate ship, embellished with detailed rigging, portholes, ratlines and masts.  And the crew of spaniels, chihuahuas, bulldogs and sheepdogs (this list is limited only by my own limited dog knowledge) is resplendent in their kerchief do-rags, breeches, buckle boots and gold earrings, the captain especially dapper in his frock coat and feathered musketeer hat.  And Augusta fits right in, truly looking like a pirate, even if Kari-Lynn Winters has to help her, and everyone else on the ship, see that when she was good, she really was a very Bad Pirate. Lucky for them.