ALSO TODAY: Table Talk How do kids make and maintain friendships? Spice of Life The common enemy By Chitra Divakaruni Be careful what you wish for as a grandchild, because as a parent, you might get it. > Wild Things Bug love By Andrea Gollin - - - - - - - - - - YESTERDAY: Not alone anymore By Dan Kennedy The Internet allows disabled people and their loved ones to find resources -- and community. - - - - - - - - - - Short story club A classic tale of family fisticuffs By F. Scott Fitzgerald Mamafesto Why it's time for Mothers Who Think Newsletter Win a set of signed Anne Lamott books when you sign up

E V E R+E A T+A+C R I C K E T ? BY ANDREA GOLLIN | OK, so maybe you've never heard a spider speak. Maybe your children haven't either. But aside from that one small technicality, Charlotte is all-arachnid, and that's got to be a big part of why E.B. White's Charlotte's Web is the bestselling children's paperback book of all time. Here's a tidbit you already know: Kids love bugs. Charlotte is the real thing, the web-weaving, egg-laying, creepy-crawling, dying deal. And that's the way White wanted it. He sent his illustrator back to the drawing board after seeing the preliminary sketches of a spider with a woman's face. "You better just draw a spider and forget about a countenance," he wrote to Garth Williams (who also drew everyone's favorite mouse, Stuart Little). Charlotte with a woman's face? We don't think so. Neither, of course, did White, who spent a year studying spiders before he even began the story. "My feelings about animals is just the opposite of Disney's," White wrote. "He made them dance to his tune and came up with some great creations, like Donald Duck. I preferred to dance to their tune, and came up with Charlotte and Wilbur." ($4.95 paperback; for ages 8 and up, HarperCollins) So, where -- besides in White's pages -- can you find the creatures to satisfy your offspring's bug lust? Your backyard, for starters. But how about toys? You can start with that time-honored classic, the ant farm. You may as well go to the original, which Milton Levine invented 40 years ago. We're still not sure how he thought of this, but it has sold almost 15 million units to date, proof positive that when it comes to house guests of the insect variety, people prefer to purchase -- not encounter -- the critters. The Ant Farm is a clear plastic container filled with sand that lets you see the ants in action. They dig. They crawl. They won't get out because it's escape-proof and break-resistant. You can even connect it to other ant farm habitants with Antway tubes. Which means -- yes -- an Ant Farm Village. Other permutations include the mini farm and the giant farm. ($11.20 for the classic Ant Farm; for ages 6 and up, Uncle Milton, 818-707-0800) For those of you with that little issue that you're too embarrassed to discuss with anyone, even with your friends in Salon's Table Talk -- no, your child is not the only child in the universe who eats bugs. And yes, he/she may grow out of it. Or he/she may not. But whether it's a phase or a predilection, why not do what any accommodating, concerned and sensitive parent would do: Give the poor dear some FDA-approved insects. For example, the Cricket Lick-It is a sugar-free, crème de menthe-flavored lollipop with a cricket nestled in the center. Yes, a real cricket. Yum! Or consider a slab of Amber InsectNside Candy with Real Scorpion. This amber-colored hard candy with a farm-raised scorpion inside is, of course, only for special occasions. And for when your little darling's been overindulging and needs to cut back on the sweets, there are Larvets, cute little packets of calorie-free, flavored beetle larvae. ($5.95 for three Cricket Lick-Its; $4.95 for Amber InsectNside Candy; $13.95 for 12 packets of Larvets; for ages 7 and up, from Archie McPhee, 425-745-0711) Sept. 11, 1997 Andrea Gollin is a freelance writer who lives in Miami Beach. Trick-or-treat at her house at your own risk.

MOTHERS WHO THINK   |
SALON   |
NEWSLETTER   |
CONTACT US  |
ARCHIVES  |
TABLE TALK