When the Fly Flew In . . .

Although a young child puts off cleaning the bedroom because all the family's pets are asleep there, the sudden arrival of a zooming fly mysteriously gets the job done

PreSchool-Grade 2-A boy delays cleaning his room to avoid disturbing his four sleeping pets. However, a noisy fly appears and irritates one animal after another. In their frantic efforts to catch it, the dog, cat, hamster, and parakeet unwittingly manage to tidy the entire room before resuming their naps. This clever story is the stuff of children's fantasies-who wouldn't want a painless way to accomplish tedious cleaning chores? Sneed's watercolors bring the text to life, portraying how the various piles of clutter are eliminated through the creatures' antics. Readers will want to flip back and forth between the messy and tidy scenes and explore the intermediate pages to figure out exactly how everything got back into its proper place. This energetic and amusing book has great read-aloud potential and offers plenty for individuals to look at on their own.
Kathy Piehl, Mankato State University, MN
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

As any parent knows, pleas to kids for clean rooms often generate creative excuses. Here, a youngster begs off tidying up his room because "all the animals are sleeping"-he'll wait until they awaken. However, a wayward fly sails through the window and inadvertently sets in motion a chain of events that would impress even Mary Poppins. Aggravated at the buzzing fly, the dog flails around the room in pursuit, as his tail swishes toys into the toybox, dirty clothes into the laundry bin and "moldy old apple cores" into the wastebasket. The fluffy white cat joins in the chase, skidding over the floor and earning the moniker "dust-mop cat." After added "help" from the hamster and the parakeet, the fly vanishes out the window-leaving the room spotless. Peters's (Good Morning, River!) nimble prose and kid-pleasing repetitions are heightened by Sneed's (Grandpa's Song; Turkey in the Straw) typically vivid colors, arresting perspectives and uninhibited motion. A great escape for reluctant janitors. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The child has a unique reason to postpone tidying his room- -four animals are asleep there, and he's loathe to disturb them. A fly that zooms in has no such compunctions. The huge dog leaps to catch it, his plumey tail inadvertently sweeping toy dinosaurs from floor to toy box and dirty clothes from bureau-top to laundry basket. The cat, taking up the chase, acts as a dust-mop, while the hamster nibbles up the crumbs and stray raisins that entice the buzzing insect. Last, the parrot leaves her perch, failing to catch the fly (which sails back out the window) but dislodging several cobwebs. Then, in the now immaculate room, the animals go back to sleep. Peters's (Water's Way, 1991, etc.) narration is brisk, and the premise is sure to tickle young imaginations, but best are Sneed's dynamic watercolor illustrations. Using close-ups, dramatic three-point perspectives, and a creative variety of full-bleed art and frames from which his animated characters escape at every turn, he alternates pell-mell action with peaceful interludes to bring out the story's full comic potential. Good, solid slapstick. (Fiction/Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Ages 5-7. Here's fun, especially for all those kids who wish someone else would clean up their rooms. In this case, it's the pets who do the straighteningthough inadvertently. A dog, a cat, a hamster, and a parakeet are all snoozing away in a messy room. Enter a fly. Suddenly, the dog is up chasing the intruder. He switches his tail, tossing toys back in their place and batting moldy fruit into the waste basket in the process. The long-haired cat scoots all around the floor like a feline dustmop. The hamster follows the fly as it lands on raisins and candy and then gobbles the goodies, while the parakeet zooms after the fly and cleans away the cobwebs. The fly escapes, of course, but leaves a clean room in his wake. This works on every level. The concept is one kids will adore, and the expertly crafted pictures are full of fun while making the most of perspectiveflies on walls, cats glowering down from tabletops, hamsters peeking out of shoes. Just one look at the book's cover, featuring the dog with the fly on his nose, and this will be flying off the shelf. Ilene Cooper