Customer Reviews

Old Black Fly

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book is just plain fun to read -- over and over again! It was one of the first books that my toddler would actually sit and listen to, and now at 18 months he's an active participant -- searching for the old black fly on each page and giving him a playful SWAT! I definitely recommend purchasing this book in hardcover, as the soft binding is simply no match for its popularity.

We are a kindergarten class, and we loved this book. We especially liked when Old Black Fly gets swatted at the end of the story. We liked when we could read along with "shoo fly, shoo fly, shoo!" The pictures were funny too.

This has been my daughter's favorite book since she was six months old. We read it "Motown Style" with lots of back beat. The rhythm is great and now, at ten months, she spends time looking at the pictures -- looking for the bad old fly, the baby, the cat and the dog. Even when I forgot the book on a trip, I was able to use the rhyme (and alphabet) to make up my own story about Old Black Fly. Buy it, you'll love it!

This is one of my favorite alphabet books. I am crazy for the splotchy, unsentimental illustrations. Check out the pucker-faced grandma, the piano-legged sister, and the befuddled haystack of a dog. (If you like them, you might also want to check out WILL'S MAMMOTH by Rafe Martin. Stephen Gammell illustrated it too. Good stuff.) I am also crazy for the ending. Who knew an alphabet book could have a really clever ending? My son (almost three) loves this book as much as I do. We read it over and over again. One note of caution: Even though this is an alphabet book, it's probably not the first alphabet book you want to buy your child. The letters are embedded in the text, and the text and illustrations are far too distracting for this book to be used to actually teach the alphabet. As a reinforcement, however, this book can't be beat.

Great book! This is one of my kinder's favorite books. The rhyming and chanting are so enjoyable for the kids. While the fly is being chased through the house and through the alphabet, the children are hearing the sounds of our language. It's an excellent book to help develop phonemic awareness and early literacy skills. More than anything, it's just plain fun!

I think the most wonderful part of this book (in response to a 2 star review) is that, after reading it, you feel like there are "fly germs everywhere!" When we read this aloud in my preschool class, the kids loved pointing out the yucky stuff on every page and when I banged the book shut to "squash" the fly and quietly opened up the book, hysterical giggles abounded. This book is great for eliciting student participation (repetition in "Shoo fly...") and for developing inference abilities at a VERY early age ("What do you think happened to the fly?" after I slam the book shut).

Whether you happen to "like" the words, flow, or illustrations, in my experience, young children do and gain a lot of out reading this book together.

I teach high school, but I am also a storyteller, and I gobefore a lot of elementary-age kids. "Old Black Fly" is agreat book to do with them. They like the alphabetizing, the color, the great pictures by Stephen Gammell, and, especially, the repetition of "Shoo fly! Shoo fly! Shoo!" (A lot like the old folk song, "Shoo, Fly! Don't Bother Me!"). This book is a keeper, and if your kids or grandkids don't have it in their library, shame on you! Get it for them--TODAY!

I first found this book in the library with my daughter and I've continued the tradition with my son (in fact, I bought this book for a friend and only go to library with children to read it).

With wacky pictures and sing-song text, we follow the adventures of a bothersome fly until he meets his doom with a properly placed whack.

If you can find the rhythm in the words, you can work up a nice flow and even have your child(ren) participate as there's a part that's just great for kids to say outloud. So, while it's a great listen for kids, they can be in on the reading, too. Even if they can't read yet.

I thought that this was a wonderful book it is cute and it is so easy to read. I think that it is cute how the fly ends up getting in all kinds of trouble because he keeps doing all the wrong things. I would recomend that everyone read this book it is so very interesting it will make you wonder what is going to happen next.

This is one of my girls' favorite books. They like the rhythm and the splatter illustrations. I like the fact that the main character is a bit of an antihero -- a dirty, annoying fly. The ending is not surprising but quite amusing.