Spiders: They are exquisitely beautiful and wildly repulsive. They are deadly and beneficial. And they are a source of great fascination--and boundless fear!--to kids of all ages. This wonderfully readable book explores the science and natural history of the spiders' world, taking in arachnids from the exotic black widows and tarantulas to all sorts of everyday and garden variety (literally) species.   In an engaging manner, and with plenty of illustrations, Spiders describes the highly individual life styles, variety, and appearance of these intriguing creatures.  Who are their relatives? What are their families? How do they spin their webs? And how do they defend themselves? Spiders answers all these questions and many more, about "stars" of the arachnid world, like the wolf spider and the brown recluse, as well as the lesser-known but no less interesting species.