• The Snow Spider

  • By: Jenny Nimmo
  • Narrated by: John Keating
  • Length: 3 hrs and 34 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (44 ratings)

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The Snow Spider  By  cover art

The Snow Spider

By: Jenny Nimmo
Narrated by: John Keating
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Editorial reviews

John Keating's rich accent enlivens Jenny Nimmo's tale of magicians and myth, from young hero Gywn's wonder and eagerness to realize his destiny, to the quivering voice of his grandmother Nain's mysterious clues. Even the wild of the raw setting of Wales becomes a character itself in Keating's lilting recital, spinning magic into book one of this acclaimed fantasy trilogy, like the helpful snow spider Asianwen.

Listeners will be instantly transported to a faraway realm of good and evil, rooting for the boy hero and his noble cause of finding his vanished sister to heal his broken family.

Publisher's summary

On Gwyn's ninth birthday, his grandmother tells him he may be a magician, like his Welsh ancestors. She gives him five gifts to help him: a brooch, a piece of dried seaweed, a tin whistle, a scarf, and a broken toy horse. One blustery day, unsure what to do with his newfound magic, Gwyn throws the brooch to the wind and receives a silvery snow spider in return. Will he be able to use this special spider to bring his missing sister, Bethan, home?

The Snow Spider spins an icy, sparkly web of mystical intrigue that sets the stage for the next two books in this outstanding trilogy!

Listen to another book in this series, The Chestnut Soldier.
©2006 Jenny Nimmo (P)2006 Scholastic Inc.

Critic reviews

"Keating's reading of the tale is flawless....his mastery may well convince readers that this fictional world is real." (Publishers Weekly)

"From the opening music to the first note of narrator John Keating's beautifully accented voice, the listener is transported to the Welsh countryside... With narration like this, is is as if John Keating were himself the snow spider, spinning richness into Jenny Nimmo's tale." (AudioFile)

What listeners say about The Snow Spider

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

make me laugh and cry

I read the book myself before. it's nice to be able to just hear the book and not have to read it you can close your eyes and let the world come to life in your mind it's also faster when you're not struggling to read it yourself but instead listening to somebody else

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Read!!!

The Snow Spider was a great audio book. I enjoyed it, immensely! Loved it!!!! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Worth the read. The ending is sad yes, but also hopeful. Gwen is young clueless magician who acts on instinct rather than knowledge most of the time. His anger gets him into plenty of trouble in this story but Gwen learns from his mistakes.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Merely ok

The narrator has a pleasant voice, though the voices he uses for female characters get a little annoying, and it's plus to have someone else figure out how the Welsh names are supposed to sound! However, the mechanics behind the magic are disjointed and don't make sense and the story itself was a little flat. This story reminded me of Susan Cooper's Dark Is Rising series- but easier to follow- so if you liked those, you might like this.

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