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Summary
Summary
There's never a dull moment in this funny, beautifully illustrated tale depicting a pesky fly in a whole new light.
The housefly in this story doesn't understand why people won't share their food with him or play with him . . . and why do they keep trying to give him a swat? He's not doing any harm! In a clever, interactive novelty book buzzing with fun, Petr Horácek may make readers reluctant to turn the final page.
Author Notes
Petr Horacek has created numerous picture books for children, including Animal Opposites, One Spotted Giraffe, Silly Suzy Goose, and Strawberries Are Red. Born in Czechoslovakia, he now lives in England.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
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).-Jessica Marie, Salem Public Library, OR © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Readers get to be a fly on the wall-and the ceiling and the breakfast table-alongside a six-legged narrator who spends much of Horacek's story trying to avoid a bright blue flyswatter that lands with a loud "FLAP." The housefly can't understand what all the fuss is about: "Look at him down there. He's after me already and it's only breakfast time," it complains in an inverted scene that shows a redheaded, flyswatter-wielding boy sitting upside-down in a kitchen. Horacek (The Mouse Who Ate the Moon) has great fun spoofing fly behavior ("After breakfast, I do my exercises-156 times around the lamp keeps me fit") and playing up the insect's unawareness of its pest status ("Once a frog nearly ate me, then a bird nearly caught me. Both in the same day. Why?"). Lush mixed-media artwork makes cupcakes and cookies look tempting to humans and flies alike, and while the world is stacked against the fly, after it lands on the boy's forehead, a die-cut flyswatter lets readers help whack the kid in the face with it-a small victory for a small hero. Ages 3-7. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
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. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
What's it like to be a fly? Well, it ain't easy."Two googly eyes, six hairy legs, two transparent wings.It's ME! The housefly. But people don't like me being in the house." Poor fly. The fly stands on the ceiling looking down at a boy holding a fly swatterand it's only breakfast time. The Musca domestica exercises to stay fit (156 times around the light fixture) before the swish of the fly swatter sends the chatty pest outside. A visit to the cows for their lovely scent is in order, but the irritable flap of a tail ends that. The fly recollects nearly being eaten by a frog and a bird in the same day: "Why?" Back to the house for some lunch; "FLAP!" goes the fly swatter (the page is cut to the shape of the evil toola nice touch); the chase begins again. A brief respite on the boy's forehead summons another "FLAP!" and another shaped page whacks the boy in the face. Poor fly. "I mean no harm to anyone. So, if you see me, please be kind. HEY, don't close the bookHELPHELPDo you want to squash me?" Horcek's fly's-eye view of a misunderstood insect's life will be a nifty read at storytime or one-on-one, particularly with a little practice to correctly time the two die-cut fly swatter pages. The attractive mixed-media illustrations are inviting. This apologium may not change minds about flies, but it's definitely buzz-worthy. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.