Reviewed by Jennifer Senick for Readers' Favorite

What would you do if everyone laughed at something you wanted to learn? In Dazzling Legs, Ruth Thomas introduces readers to Sparkle, a tiny peacock spider with a big dream. He opens the School of Spin and tells all the insects in the garden that they can have free lessons. But instead of signing up, the others tease him. Meanwhile, a centipede named Multi is having a problem, too. He was invited to a dance party, but he doesn’t have the best coordination. As Multi struggles with his moves, some of the other bugs make fun of him. This makes him lose confidence. Then Sparkle and Multi meet. They talk and think they could work together. Will these two unlikely friends be able to achieve their goals?

As a former preschool teacher, I really enjoyed Dazzling Legs by Ruth Thomas. It uses a creative cast of creatures to explore confidence and perseverance. I thought the name of Sparkle’s school was clever, and it made me smile. I had never heard of a peacock spider before, and I looked them up when I was done reading. I’m sure kids will want to know more about them, too. So, as a teacher, I would assign them a research project about spiders. They’d want to count the legs of each bug in the story, too. I’d also have conversations with my students about bullying, resilience, kindness, and favorite insects. Russell A. Thomas's illustrations caught my eye. They’re bright and detailed. I think it’s important for children to see facial expressions of characters, and this book does a good job with that. Young readers who enjoy stories about insects, friendship, and self-belief will want to read this one. The message that stayed with me was simple: "Keep trying, even when it's hard,” and it made me think of the old saying: "If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again."