2017 National Science Teacher's Association Outstanding Science Trade Book
2016-17 Alabama Camellia Children's Choice Book Award reading list
THE AMAZING VOYAGE OF NEFERTITI, THE SPIDERNAUT --

Most spiders spin a web and passively wait for prey to come to them. Jumping spiders, by contrast, actively hunt by jumping to catch their food. What if a jumping spider was sent to the International Space Station? When it jumped, it would simply float. No one knew if the spider could hunt in a weightless environment.

This nonfiction picture book for elementary kids chronicles the amazing voyage of Nefertiti, the Spidernaut to the International Space Station and back. She's a Phiddipus johnsonii, or Johnson jumping spider, native to western United States. Her colorful anatomy--red, black and teal--made for stunning photography and video. In 2012, Nefertiti clocked a record-breaking 100 days in space, during which time she circled Earth about 1584 times, traveling about 41,580,000 miles.

Astronaut Sunita Williams, Captain U.S. Navy said, "It was a suspense story for me as it happened. I didn't know if she would survive when I unpacked her for the first time, or when I packed her up and sent her back home to Earth."

This is an astonishing story of change: through the dark and cold, in spite of being weightless and isolated, this incredible spider adapted and learned to hunt. Against all odds, she survived to return to Earth, where she had to re-adapt to Earth's gravity. Nefertiti's story of survival brings hope that we, too, can adapt to a changing world.

Join Nefertiti in this inspiring journey into space.

About the Author
Storyteller, writing teacher, Queen of Revisions, and founder of Mims House (www.mimshouse.com) publisher, Darcy Pattison (darcypattison.com/about) has been published in nine languages. Her books, published with Harcourt, Philomel/Penguin, Harpercollins, Arbordale, and Mims House have received recognition for excellence with starred reviews in Kirkus, BCCB and PW. Three nonfiction nature books have been honored as National Science Teacher's Association Outstanding Science Trade books. The Journey of Oliver K. Woodman (Harcourt) received an Irma Simonton Black and James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children's Literature Honor Book award and has been published in a Houghton Mifflin textbook. The Nantucket Sea Monster (Mims House) is a Junior Library Guild Selection, and a 2018 NCTE Notable Children's Book in Language Arts. She's the 2007 recipient of the Arkansas Governor's Arts Award for Individual Artist for her work in children's literature.