title: The Golden Spider: A Fantasy Novel for Children 9-14 Years Old
author:  Dan Liberthson 
description: Dan Liberthson was born in Rochester, NY and attended Northwestern University (BA, history) and SUNY at Buffalo (PhD, English). In addition to The Golden Spider, his first childrens book, he has published three illustrated books of poetry for adults, which are described on his website, liberthson.com. His last poetry book, "Animal Songs" (2010), delves into the powerful presence of animals in our lives. Intimates in our homes, predators or prey in the wild, and inspirations in both worlds, they help us realize what it means to be alive. Other books include "The Pitch is On the Way: Poems About Baseball and Life (2008)," which explores baseball and what the game means to its fans, and "A Family Album" (2006), poems about his childhood in and growth out of an American Jewish family with a mentally ill sister.
zlib_text: 
  
  
  # acknowledgments
  
  
  Many, many thanks to Marissa,  
  who believed in this book when it was just a sketch and then edited it  
  with her enormous brain;
  
  
  and to Elizabeth,
  
  
  who always knows just what to do and stands by me when the going is rough.
  
  
  In addition, thanks
  
  
  to Zoe for help with naming my characters and for taking me to Kid Robot
  (where Gretchen gets all her little plastic toys);
  
  
  to the proprietors of [www.spiderfan.org](http://www.spiderfan.org) for their
  excellent site, which I used a lot;
  
  
  to my drawing teacher at SVA in New York City and to Catherine and Aaron for
  taking class with me;
  
  
  to Daniel for a good edit,
  
  
  and to Ivy for existing.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  **also by e. lockhart  
   _the boyfried list  
  the boy book_**
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  **e. lockhart** is the author of _The Boyfriend List_ and its sequel, _The Boy
  Book._ She first met Spider-Man when watching the _Electric Company_
  television show at the age of three, and subscribed to Spider-Mancomics in her
  early twenties. She has 