The Deadliest Spider; The Deadliest Big Cat

by Jennifer | Mar 31, 2025

Eleanor Spicer Rice, an entomologist, has only recently started publishing books for juvenile readers. Starting in 2023 with Unseen Jungle, an informative and hilarious book about microbes, she’s teamed up with illustrator Rob Wilson to create accessible and interesting nonfiction titles. Her newest series, The Deadliest debuted in 2025 with two exciting titles that combine her inimitable prose with the lively art of Max Temescu. The two debut titles focus on very different creatures—spiders and big cats—and combine comic panels, anecdotes, game-show style art, and interesting facts for a fun and engaging reading experience.

Both titles begin with a basic introduction and safety tips for interacting with these creatures, including not keeping big cats as pets and not disturbing spiders. In Big Cat, readers learn about the basic species of cats and the seven that are considered “big cats.” In Spider we learn what defines a spider and meet six spiders that are considered the most dangerous from the brown recluse to the mouse spider. In both books readers learn about the creatures’ interactions with humans, how they can be dangerous, why they might attack a human, and potential scenarios of their attacks. A spinner at the end shows the ranked creatures from “What’s the big deal?” to “Say Goodbye” and we learn which of the species we learned about is most deadly. The answers will be surprising! But the story doesn’t stop there. Rice continues to explore the importance of each creature to its ecosystem, compares them to other natural and man-made hazards, and includes some fun activities.

Max Temescu’s art is a great complement to Rice’s lively text. Sleek cats and carefully detailed spiders roam the pages and the books’ layout is busy but not cluttered. He combines comic panels, info boxes, layers of different fonts and colors, occasional speech bubbles, and action shots to keep readers’ interest focused on the facts and narrative. The humans pictured have diverse skin tones and body types and the spiders, especially are shown as cute and friendly instead of frightening.

These are a step up in reading level from Pallotta’s popular Who Would Win easy nonfiction series and with the added bonus of Temescu’s art they are sure to become a favorite series for elementary-age students, as well as older readers who want to learn the truth about animals who are supposed to be “deadly.” Additional titles will be released throughout the year and they are an strong choice for most public and school libraries.

The Deadliest Spider; The Deadliest Big Cat
By Eleanor Spicer Rice
Art by Max Temescu
Norton Young Readers, 202

NFNT Age Recommendation: Easy Readers (5-9), Middle Grade (7-11)