Bethany bARTon was drawing monsters for her other picture books (<i>This Monster Needs A Haircut</i>, <i>This Monster Cannot Wait</i>) when a spider crawled across the page and demanded her attention. Since she couldn t smash Mr. Spider into her artwork, she decided to try and love him. It wasn t easy (RIP Mr. Spider) but in the process, this book was born.When she isn t writing or illustrating books about awesome and icky things, Bethany spends her days decorating sets and painting miniatures for film/TV. Bethany lives in Los Angeles with her rad husband, their adorable son, and an outrageous number of garden spiders she won t let anybody smash. (Well... unless they re really big.)</p>
<b><b>A 2016 CHILDREN'S CHOICE BOOK AWARD WINNER! PRAISE FOR <i>I'M TRYING TO LOVE SPIDERS</i> </b> * The skillful juggling of scientific fact and emotional truth make this a winner. <i>Publishers Weekly</i>, starred review * Barton's wacky ink and digital artwork is simultaneously cringe-worthy and cackle-inducing.... Both arachnophobes and arachnophiles will find useful debate fodder squashed within these pages. <i>Kirkus Reviews</i>, starred review The presentation is original and engaging, with a zippy text and hilarious visuals. The cartoon illustrations are appealingly childlike, with the font a hand-written scrawl, and the spiders depicted are downright cuddly. <i>School Library Journal Watercolor-like splotches form the background for the spiders, who actually look hapless and cute. Fact-filled and funny arachnology. <i>Booklist</i> <b>PRAISE FOR BETHANY BARTON: </b></b> Toothy and unkempt, with wild eyes and a temper tantrum of a roar 'I wanna go camping NOW!' Stewart fully embodies a preschooler who has not yet mastered the art of waiting. Barton s sprawling, hand-lettered text and its buoyant placement match the urgency of Stewart s desperation. <i>Kirkus</i> review of <i>This Monster Cannot Wait!</i> The sprawling text printed in capital letters emphasizes Stewart s impatience, and the quirky ink and Photoshop illustrations add many humorous moments to the story. <i>School Library Journal</i> review of <i>This Monster Cannot Wait!</i></p>