A Fly Went By

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: A Fly Went By is a good source for children who are learning to communicate animals with eachother. In the book all the animals are running from eachother for example, a cat running from a dog. At the end the whole problem is solved when they find that the animal causing all the trouble isn't as scary as it seems. This book is a good source of entertainment for a child because it rhymes and has a good source of adventure to it.

Rating:
Summary: Fear not!
Review: I am a first time reader of this book and found it quite good. I liked how all the animals were scared of something but it was really not what it seemed. The rhyming was a good part in the story. It made it flow better. I think children will like this book because its not too hard and not too easy to read. Also, the pictures had really nothing to them but they seemed more like how kids would draw and color them, so I think they might like that better anyway.

Rating:
Summary: Fear not!
Review: I remembered this book from my childhood, along with "Stop That Ball" by the same author and illustrator. I love all the movement in the illustrations in both books. I recently started reading both to our 3 year old son, who likes them very much -- he enjoys the rhymes and repetition. But, I was shocked the first time through this book that it has a "man with a gun" and a fox who wants to kill a baby cow. In "Stop That Ball" a hilltop is blasted with TNT and the boy is warned not to try to get his ball out of a cannon that it goes into because "that thing could blow your head off!" I tend to skip over some of the language for now, but it's a pity that these elements are a part of these otherwise fun books.

Rating:
Summary: Could do without the gun and and the killing references
Review: I remembered this book from my childhood, along with "Stop That Ball" by the same author and illustrator. I love all the movement in the illustrations in both books. I recently started reading both to our 3 year old son, who likes them very much -- he enjoys the rhymes and repetition. But, I was shocked the first time through this book that it has a "man with a gun" and a fox who wants to kill a baby cow. In "Stop That Ball" a hilltop is blasted with TNT and the boy is warned not to try to get his ball out of a cannon that it goes into because "that thing could blow your head off!" I tend to skip over some of the language for now, but it's a pity that these elements are a part of these otherwise fun books.

Rating:
Summary: not in my house
Review: i was horrified at the violence in this book. no young child should be told a bedtime story about a man with a gun or anything trying to kill kill kill. i prefer to read stories that teach my child the value of using manners and talking out their frustrations.

Rating:
Summary: Funny, good climax, good morals
Review: The book is about why the fly went by. I chose the book because it was very funny. I think it would capture the hearts of children through its action-packed storyline and enjoyable rhythm and rhyme. There is also a lot of repetition and the pictures encapsulate the story, enabling young readers to "read". Its brightly colored front cover is a suitable introduction to the story which adequately provokes young readers' minds to wonder why the fly went by the boy.

The plot starts off simply with a boy relaxing beside a lake and watching a fly go by. The story unfolds as the boy and readers learn why the fly went by when a frog jumps past. However, we soon learn the frog is not chasing the fly but jumps in fear of a bigger animal, the cat. And the cycle goes on as smaller animals run in fear from yet bigger or more fearful animals until it is a man with a gun who runs past. The climax and suspense is reached when a question pops into the minds of the boy and readers: `Who is the man running in fear from?'. The answer is a hilarious one. It is a little sheep whose back hoof was caught in a tin can and was making such a racket that the man thought it was a "bad" thing. Even funnier is the fact that such a small animal can cause such a chain reaction of fear and chaos.

It's a long book so break up the reading into sessions otherwise you will have kids running away.

I would recommend this book because it advocates good social values such as helping and empathizing with others, in addition to worthy character traits such as courage, persistence and inquisitiveness.

The story also advocates that children can make a difference, boosting the self-image of young children. Our current hectic lifestyles leaves children feeling frustrated as adults rush in their impatience to assist children with things they can do for themselves albeit a bit slower. The result is children feel frustrated, helpless and burdensome to their parents. I believe this story projects a healthy image of children and the significance of what they can do when spurred from their pureness of heart and desire to be helpful.


Rating:
Summary: Memorable
Review: This book holds a special place for me, having read it as a young child (in the summer of 1961). . The feel of that summer is intertwined with the opening phrase "I sat by the lake and looked at the sky" - the rhyme and the illustrations continue to capture that sense of place and well-being -- If this sense could be inbued from a book for a lifetime (as it was with me) - to give just one happy childhood memory, then it would indeed be a priceless gift to pass on to a young child.

Rating:
Summary: A FLY WENT BY
Review: This book is little long but it is a really good book. This boy is sitting by a tree and sees a fly go by over his head and asked the fly why he ran. The book goes on and on with many animals chancing each other. But all the animals where scared of the animal after them but it turns out that none of the animals where after each other. They were all scared of the animal behind them, which were all scared of what was behind them. ... I did like this book it was a good book. I recommend this book to people. It rhyms a little bit but overall it was a good book.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully entertaining and clever!
Review: This is one of the best written and illustrated books for its age group. This is the first book I remember reading from my childhood and was one of the first books I purchased for my own children.

Rating:
Summary: My favorite
Review: This is simply my favorite children's book. Even at 35 years old I'm touched by the ending. I recommend it to anyone, young or old, for the great story, flowing language and important lesson. I couldn't disagree more with the person who thought it was violent. It's true that the characters are all fearful at some point in the story, but we learn it's because they're missing some information that isn't revealed until the end, when all is well. This book is about not leaping to conclusions about others, and not fearing what we don't understand. Buy it for a child you love. They will read it again and again.