FICTION

The Fly

by Petr HORÁCEK
illus. by Petr Horácek. 32p. Candlewick. 2015. Tr $14.99. ISBN 9780763674809. LC 2013957523.
COPY ISBN
PreS-Gr 2—Poor Fly just can't catch a break. Even though he's just a normal housefly, people don't like him in the house. No matter where he goes or what he does, everyone wants to swat him. "Flap!" Through humorous text ("After breakfast, I do my exercises—156 times around the lamp keeps me fit!") and bright mixed-media illustrations, including several pages that cleverly serve as a flip-the-flap fly swatter, this will be a sure hit with the preschool crowd. Pair this with Lydia Monks's Aaaarrgghh! Spider! (HMH, 2004) for a fun-filled storytime about sympathetic creepy crawlies.
VERDICT A great companion title for fans of Tedd Arnold's "Fly Guy" books (Scholastic).
Reviewed by Jessica Marie, Salem Public Library, OR
A fly describes its daily life and its mystification that it's not more popular with the farm animals and the (flyswatter-wielding) boy in whose house it lives. Substance-wise, there's not much to the text, which swirls to reflect the fly's path. But the tedious insect's all-innocence "Who, me?" persona is amusing, and the art, which features flyswatter-shaped flaps, is innovative.
, Jun 01, 2015

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