Seven Spiders Spinning (Hamlet Chronicles Series #1)

What happens when seven deadly Siberian Snow Spiders from before the dawn of time invade a contemporary classroom in rural Vermont? Bedlam, and one of the funniest, creepiest, ickiest middle-grade Halloween books ever written! 'Demon spiders, lover spiders, greedy spiders, sensitive spiders—they all go on heroic quests that get entangled in classroom rivalries and local soap operas. . . . Everything is part of the comic brew, from the nightly news and Spidergate to Dracula, The Wizard of Oz, Charlotte's Web and Little Miss Muffet.'—BL. 'A fast, delightfully entertaining romp.'—K.

Notable Children's Books of 1995 (ALA)

Author Biography: Gregory Maguire's debut novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West—the story of a little green girl who grows up to become the Wicked Witch of the West—earned the author rave reviews and a dedicated literary following. Maguire received his doctorate at Tufts University and has served as artist-in-residence at the Blue Mountain Center, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and the Hambidge Center. He lives in Concord, Massachusetts.