Tiny Little Fly - Hardcover

Rosen, Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0763646814 ISBN 13: 9780763646813

Publisher: Candlewick, 2010

Synopsis

My, oh my! An elusive fly stirs up some mighty beasts in this witty tale for the very young, from a British Children’s Laureate and a talented Irish illustrator.

When Tiny Little Fly sees great big toes (and lands on a great big nose), the poor elephant tries—tramp, crush, tramp—but can’t catch it. Off flies the fly! The teasing insect easily misses the rhino’s roll, squash, roll and the tiger’s swat, swoop, snatch too. Michael Rosen’s simple language is a joy to read aloud, while Kevin Waldron’s whimsical images match his playful rhythm beat for beat, offering a fly’s-eye view of each favorite animal before revealing the energized creature in full. How will this gently suspenseful adventure end? Fly, fly, fly!

About this title

About the Author

Michael Rosen, a recent British Children’s Laureate, has written many acclaimed books for children, including We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, and I’m Number One and This Is Our House, both illustrated by Bob Graham. Michael Rosen lives in London.

Kevin Waldron is an emerging illustrator from Dublin, Ireland. His first picture book, Mr. Peek and the Misunderstanding at the Zoo, was published in May 2008 by Templar. He divides his time between New York and London.

Reviews

PreS-Gr 1-A spare rhyming text and vivid illustrations tell the story of a fly that stirs up a whole mess of trouble. First it lands on elephant's trunk and ends up eye-to-eye with the great gray beast. Elephant is just about to catch it when, after a "TRAMP! CRUSH! TRAMP!" it flies off. The next landing place is Hippo's ear, and the hippo decides to catch it. But no matter how quickly he squashes and rolls, the little fly is airborne once more. Lastly, the fly decides that the tiger's paw is the place to be, but readers will know by now that it will once more get away from even the most fearsome creature. The dynamic illustrations stretch across pages and convey the action, movement, and emotion of the story with minimal detail. From the jacket depicting the tiger and the fly across the front and back covers, to the four-page foldout showing the fly leaving the animals in the mud, readers will want to hold the book and examine the stunning pencil and gouache illustrations closely. Pair this with Eric Carle's The Grouchy Ladybug (HarperCollins, 1977) or Eric Rohmann's My Friend Rabbit (Millbrook, 2002) for a guaranteed participatory and unforgettable storytime.-Stacy Dillon, LREI, New York City (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

During a breezy journey, a wily fly alights on an elephant’s toes, a hippo’s ear, and a tiger’s claw, and each of the animals is determined to get rid of the nuisance: “Great Big Elephant winks one eye, says to himself, ‘I’m going to catch that fly!’” But despite the animals’ best efforts, which involve a lot of tramping, rolling, swooping, and snatching, the sly insect eludes them all. Then, in a closing gatefold that uses its extra real estate to convey the mayhem and ruckus, all the creatures pile together in a massive mud pool, while “My, oh my, Tiny Little Fly” flits away with a smug wink. The consistently patterned, simple rhyming text is accompanied by rustic, large-scale, digitally enhanced pencil-and-gouache art in savanna-like browns, grays, oranges, and greens. Although this may be a familiar story, the words and images create an easily absorbed, enjoyable adventure. Preschool-Kindergarten. --Andrew Medlar

Edition details

• Publisher: Candlewick
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0763646814
• ISBN 13: 9780763646813
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Waldron Kevin
• Number of pages: 32