YA Sci-Fi Short Story Anthology including a spaceship caught in a spider web and a planet with dangerous crystal rain showers. Read in 1990s. Spoiler.

[Joe]

I've been looking for this book for decades, but have found very little information about it. I would have read it in the 90s. I believe I obtained it from a Scholastic book club or one of those Publisher's Clearing House outlet stores. The book is a collection of science fiction short stories aimed at young adults. The front cover is a vintage, pulp-style illustration of an astronaut cutting through a "net" in space. Behind him is a sinister looking planet with glowing red eyes. I have no idea if this was actually a vintage book, or if it was just made with that aesthetic in mind. Here is what I can remember about some of the stories within:

1. An astronaut encounters glowing grid or net in space. He gets out and attempts to cut his way through it to free his ship. He starts to notice a nearby planet getting closer and closer. Eventually, he discovers it is actually a gigantic spider. The creature devours him.

2. Two kids (I believe a brother and sister, but maybe they were cousins) are playing baseball in low-gravity. As a result of this, they finish playing and realize they have ended up miles and miles away from home and have to find their way back.

3. A boy is outside when an air raid siren sounds. People shout at him to get in doors immediately. It turns out the planet experiences showers of falling crystals or diamonds that are deadly. The boy escapes, but gets one of the falling shards embedded in his shoulder or leg.

4. Earth is being evacuated in favor of a planet that is not polluted. A young girl is searching for an old men she is friends with. She fears she will miss the flight and be stuck on earth. When she finds the old man, he has decided to stay on earth, and is planting a tree in hopes of undoing the damage humans have wrought.

4. Explorers land on an eerie planet where all of the plants appear to be made from stone. As they explore, they find a stream making its way through the stone plants. One explorer takes the water back to his ship and uses it to water the plants onboard. The water ends up turning the plants to stone. The explorer runs back to the stream, only to find that their partner has drank the water and is now turning to stone as well.

That's all I know, the culmination of years of searching and finding a few other souls on the web who are also seeking the same book. Maybe you can help me solve this mystery!

[Rainbowheart]

Does anything on these lists look familiar?

20th Century YA Anthologies

YA Science Fiction Anthologies

[Joe]

Rainbowheart wrote: "Does anything on these lists look familiar?"

Sadly, no. Thanks for trying though.