Children’s Book Review: “Spider-Man Swings Through Europe!”

Just in time for the theatrical release of Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man: Far From Home comes a new children’s picture book from Marvel called Spider-Man Swings Through Europe! It’s a great way to introduce little kids to Peter Parker and his friends, particularly if they are too young for the PG-13 film but have siblings that are age appropriate and talking all about it. It also adds a little bit of edutainment with a stylized map to track Spidey’s travels.

Spider-Man and his classmates are heading to Europe for a class trip. Kids will follow his adventures to Venice, Prague, and London to take in the sights and celebrate the beauty of each location. He stays in his Spidey suit the whole time and keen eyed fans will spot some hidden Nick Fury’s trailing Spider-Man everywhere he goes. It’s not included in the text, but you can make a game out of it, almost like an easy version of Where’s Waldo?

Calliope Glass takes the travelogue elements of Spider-Man: Far From Home and transforms then into a kid-friendly story where Spider-Man tours Europe and has a lot of fun, without the evil hijinks of Mysterio. The illustrations by Andrew Kold add some stylized fun. The maps are fun to explore to see all of the hidden details and icons of each country.

For kids too young to swing into theaters to see Spider-Man: Far From Home, there’s the picture book Spider-Man Swings Through Europe! It’s a lot of fun and kids will unintentionally learn about three of Europe’s biggest cities in the process. If your family is planning a European vacation in the near future, it can serve dual purposes of satisfying your young one’s interest in Spider-Man and also exciting them for the same type of adventure they will soon have with their family.

Alex Reif
Alex joined the Laughing Place team in 2014 and has been a lifelong Disney fan. His main beats for LP are Disney-branded movies, TV shows, books, music and toys. He recently became a member of the Television Critics Association (TCA).