Baseball cap–sporting Buzz helps his pet fly search for a pet of his own in this hilarious picture-book adventure, with poignant insights into the nature of friendship.
One day, Buzz takes Fly Guy with him on a family picnic to the park. Thought balloons play up Fly Guy's clever communication capabilities, as Tedd Arnold (Parts) conveys the strong bond between boy and fly. Children will savor Arnold's interplay between the text and illustrations. "They ate lunch," the text reads, as Buzz bites into his sandwich and Fly Guy hovers over the trash. They look at clouds together and observe other children playing in the park with their unusual pets. A bear and blonde girl rock out to a portable radio; a boy sporting a catcher's chest pad, thick gloves and a welder's shield engages with his pet porcupine. But Fly Guy, with droopy wings and antennae, sadly announces in a speech balloon, "No Petz!" As Buzz helps Fly Guy search for a pet, Arnold makes comic fodder of the classic selections: a puppy's tongue sends Fly Guy topsy turvy, and a cat swats at the winged hero. Fly Guy's attempts to find his own pet yield similar results. Readers will enjoy arriving at the solution ahead of Fly Guy, thanks to Arnold's carefully choreographed thought balloons.
This picture-book adventure packs in the humor while honoring the importance of giving friends room to try out new ideas and trusting that the friendship is strong enough to handle the prospect of change. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness