David Catrow's trademark brand of over-the-top humor makes the perfect match for a bare-bones tale aimed at beginning readers about a fly that interrupts a performance.
The paper-over-board book begins on the title page, as the fly nears a doorman with an overlong nose and a pair of spectacles perched upon them. It's an ideal landing spot: "The fly flew on," says the first line. The uniformed fellow responds with a healthy sneeze: his hat flies up, his feet leave the ground, and "The fly flew off." Into the auditorium it goes. A man loses his toupee and hearing aid, a woman her tiara, and a child his lollipop ("The fly flew in, out, and on"). Catrow repeats the key words and introduces just enough new words to keep things interesting, as when the fly disrupts the orchestra and the pest becomes a target. "Get that fly! Bang!" says a drummer, crashing a cymbal (and inadvertently hitting the violinist). "Get that fly! Boom!" cries the drummer (rapping the hand of the actress).
The fly not so much upstages as upends the performance. Until at last "The fly flew out. Bye, fly!" The unspoken smaller dramas will be just as entertaining to youngsters as the overarching plot of the fly's antics (e.g., the conductor, reading and chowing down pizza does not see the child's lollipop headed straight for his long white hair). Catrow proves how much may be done with a few well-placed words and a comical scenario. Encore! --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness