The Tarantula Scientist by Sy Montgomery

The Tarantula Scientist by Sy Montgomery (80 pages; 1 book) #33

Montgomery, Sy (2004). The Tarantula Scientist. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Co.

Awards: 2005 Robert F. Sibert Informational Honor Book

Grade Level: 4-8 grades

Author Credibility: Montgomery is a noted award winning author. She has several books that are written for a group of books known as scientists in the field. For this book she accompanied Sam Marshall to French Guiana in South America. They searched for tarantula burrows to mark and measure tarantulas in Tresor Reserve. They then traveled to Les Grottes and looked at tailless whip scorpions and collected Holothele tarantulas. From there she went to Hiram College in Hiram, OH. She is very knowledgeable in following scientists around and capturing their true nature.

Summary/Response: Sam Marshall begins by poking into a hole trying to get a tarantula to come out of its hole. The spider he coaxes out is the Goliath birdeater tarantula. This spider is so big that it could cover the area of your face. Despite being tricked out of her hole, she doesn’t attack her human intruders. She simply retreats partially down in her hole. Tarantula blood is clear, blue, or yellow. They shed their exoskeleton periodically and can even grow back lost legs. If their legs get injured, they pull off the injured leg and eat it! Unlike other spiders, they can live up to 30 years. Sam is one of only four or five scientists that study tarantula. The tarantula’s came by mistake. The name tarantula was originally used for the wolf spider and even then it was misused. There is a smaller spider that carried a bad bite and people would dance around to get rid of the venom, this dance was called the tarantella. People thought this bite was coming from the wolf spider. When they came to America they found the hairy spiders and dubbed them the name tarantula. The ingenuity that scientist carry comes out in Sam and his “scientific supplies.” He carries plastic deli containers, empty pill bottles, giant tweezers, a kitchen knife, and a hoe. I like the way Montgomery points this out. It lets children know that you don’t have to have a lot of expensive equipment for research. The book goes on to talk about the spider’s defense consisting of small hairs being released from their rear that irritates the folds of the neck, nose, and eyes. Sam compares this to the same defense system of a porcupine. Sy Montgomery outdoes herself again.

National Standards: Language: Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
Science: Structure and function in living systems, Reproduction and heredity, Regulation and behavior, Populations and ecosystems, Diversity and adaptations of organisms

Illustrations: Color photographs, map,

Access Features: Map, Update, Tarantulas Prefer Not to Be Handled, Spider Stats, Spider Speak, How This Book Was Researched, Special Acknowledgements, Selected Bibliography, Spiders on the Web, If You Visit French Guiana, If You Buy A Tarantula, Index, Teachers.

Related Texts: The Snake Scientist by Sy Montgomery, Quest for the Tree Kangaroo by Sy Montgomery- they all accurately depict the scientific process and how scientist think and work.

Classroom Use: Great for the scientific method and to observe how scientists questions and studies their species