Jane McGee

It probably takes a teacher of Psychology to do it, so Jane McGee, Ph.D., started to write short stories aimed at helping young children overcome their fear of spiders. Before she started writing her spider stories Jane wrote a textbook for the Extended Project qualification. Which has sold well over 20,000 copies. She had the idea after taking a group of her sixth form students to a spider phobia workshop at a local zoo. Jane was well aware of the psychological explanations for spider phobia. Spiders have a pretty bad reputation because they look so different from humans and just about any other animal we know! So she decided to do something about this and put pen to paper to write short stories for children aged four to eight. By featuring spiders as the central characters it is hoped familiarity will lead to liking. The ‘Cobweb Capers’ stories show these little guys are full of personality, much like the cats and dogs we share our homes with! They include AJ, the sporty spider, who can run faster than most of the male spiders in the area, Clay, the naughty spider, Marley, the sensible spider, Mirabelle, the creative spider, and Orson, the clever spider who only speaks in rhyme. Mostly, Jane hopes this book will be a ton of fun for children who love superheroes, magical settings, mayhem, mischief, happy endings, and joyous adventures. Spiders are a vital part of the ecosystem but unfortunately they often killed for no reason except irrational fear. Jane is concerned that many harmless spider species may be extinct because of the way humans react to them. Jane says it is time to give spiders a more positive spin!. The book may have been written to appeal to children between four to eight, but the message is universal and for all ages. This book helps to spread the word that spiders should be cared for, yes some require caution and should be admired from a safe distance but a positive interest in spiders can be encouraged by exposing children to spiders as the lead protagonists in Cobweb Capers.