I keep walking into spider webs. I just don’t see them. I’m keeping the spiders busy. The other day, one of those webs reminded me of Eric Carle’s The Very Busy Spider. 

• A spider drops in on a farm.
• She begins to build a web.
• Farm animals drop by to invite her to play.
• She’s too busy making the web bigger and tighter.

The other busy character in the story is a fly.

• The fly is in every scene.
• He’s not aware of any danger.
• There’s no escape when he is caught in the web.

What did the spider do? He wound the fly in silk and did what all spiders do. He sucked the blood out of the fly, it’s very life.

Ewww! Kids love it!

Parents and teachers can use this little spider story to make a Biblical point.

• We all come in contact with temptations.
• We can choose to leave the situation or like the fly, keep hanging around.
• If we hang around, we eventually get caught in a trap that may be inescapable.
• Satan’s traps can suck our very life from us.

Teaching children to choose their friends and the places they go wisely, is a hard lesson, but a little busy spider in a children’s book may make a lasting impression that will help them along life’s way.

Even the wise old owl wanted to know who built that beautiful web. Was he tricked by the beauty of the web or was he making the point that danger often entices us with its beauty.

What other children’s stories do you use to help your children understand Biblical truths?