Mike McClintock (1906–1967)

I had never read this book before, and I really enjoyed reading it for a few reasons. The first thing that caught my eye when previewing the text was the illustrations. In my opinion, Fritz Siebel’s style resembles a classic comic strip, and I like the crayon scribble look that makes the illustrations look childlike. The pictures strongly support the text, and show a lot of movement. I like the use of rhyming language in this story because I think it would make for a strong read aloud show more book. “One ran from the other. The other ran too, from the one who came after. Now what could I do?” The plot revolves around and interesting concept. There are a series of animals and insects appearing to chase one another only for fear of being chased themselves, when in reality there is no chase. “The fly does not know that the frog is not mad. The frog does not know that the cat is not bad.” In fact, it was a surprise to find out that the cause for the extensive chase was simply a sheep stuck in a tin can. The big idea of A Fly Went By is that it is not always wise to make assumptions. show less

We've read this one together SO many times, but it wasn't until my kid insisted on reading it all by himself that I realized what a great early reader it is. It's got the rhyme, it's got the repetition, but not to the point of being tedious, and despite its 64 pages and lots of print of some of them it consists only of one or two syllable phonetically logical words and common sight words. And yet, the language doesn't feel dumbed down at all, it's a very pleasant, flowing read. Still a show more favorite at our house. show less

A boy is relaxing at the lake when a fly goes by in a panic. Character after character is chasing each other, not knowing that the animal chasing them thinks they, too, are in danger. But when he finds that all the ruckus is started by a lamb that has gotten his foot in a tin can he tells all the characters to STOP and explains they really aren't being chased by anyone to fear.

A good story when talking about cause and effect, point of view, and many more. The talking animals are good for show more fantasy units, too. A great book for beginning readers on a middle-late 1st grade or 2nd grade level. show less

I really like A Fly Went By for a couple reasons. The rhyming aspect of the writing is very easy for early readers to catch on to. Even if at first they do not know all the words in the book, once they pick up the rhyming pattern they can use that to predict the sounds of the other words. The growing ridiculousness of the plot is also something that I enjoy. Seeing the escalation from a simple fly to the entire line of eight things all because of a lamb with a tin can is really entertaining. show more This simple fun I feel is good for young readers. One of the best things you can do when teaching young readers is to show that there can be fun in reading. The growing craziness of the plot of this book can help do that. A young kindergartner, first, or second grader would be very into the growing line of chaos and finding out exactly what the real problem is. The big idea of this book is to solve the mystery of what started this growing line of chaotic misunderstanding. Overall I really like this book, it's fun, and it definitely would entertain young readers. show less