내 친구 거미
By: Seung-beom Lee
Publisher: BookGoodCome, Korea, 2022
Format: Hardback
Itsy bitsy spider finds a friend
How different can friends be? Do they have to look the same, think the same - or even be the same species?
내 친구 거미 translates to "My friend spider". The little spider is the star of this book, but as soon as we turn the first page we find him in trouble: The heavy rain forces him to leave his spiderweb home and seek shelter elsewhere. He asks fellow animals for help with no result. A small boy sees his struggles, and gently opens the window and invites him in.
This small act of kindness turns out to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. The boy and the spider have a lot fun together: Turns out that string games, yo-yos, tug-of-war and walking on a leash are perfect playtime activities for friends when one of them has an unlimited supply of string! There is a dramatic highlight when the mother - clearly not a spider fan - discovers the new household member, but luckily it all ends well.
내 친구 거미 is a lovely story about how seemingly impossible friendships can be made if we remain open-minded. The illustrations are bursting with creativity and playfullness. Lee's layouts make the most of all the creative possibilities there are to be found in spiderwebs and string, and the spider's facial expressions are absolutely adorable. This is a large-sized book with lots of open spaces and muted backgrounds, so as in many other Korean silent books there is plenty of room for the readers imagination.
For older children and adults, there are more layers to be found to this story. The spider is running away from a dangerous climate, as so many refugees in the world are forced to do every day. How willing are we to "open the window" for someone we see as different from ourselves, or maybe even find scary? The boy in this book has no predjucide towards the spider, but meets him with a completely open mind. They find fun ways to play because they are different, using each others strengths to work together. Maybe we could all learn a lesson from the boy and his new eight-legged friend...
Seung-beom Lee is a graphic designer who started making children's books when his own kids were small. "My friend spider" is his fourth title.
