The Very Lonely Firefly

This is one of my favorite Eric Carle books. Being a Southerner, fireflies.....or lightening bugs.....are a magical part of every child's summer. I love the storyline Carle chose for this one. The reader and/listener is drawn in and eagerly anticipates finding the conclusion....what is causing the commotion the family is excitedly tracking??! The little firefly is coaxed along by the numerous light sources the family creates along the way. The fact that this book actually lights up is an extra special treat that children love!

The firefly flickers his light, hoping to see another. He sees different lights and goes to them, but they are lamps, candles, headlights, or other lights. None of them are other fireflies. Until, at last, the firefly sees a bunch of lights flickering, and when he goes up to them, they are a group of other fireflies! The lonely firefly has found others like him and is no longer lonely.

This book covers the topic of companionship. The firefly just wants to find other fireflies like him and is disappointed and lonely each time he has false hope. I think that this is a metaphor that kids can understand for a lonely person looking for friends. The illustrations are really cool in this book. The backgrounds are dark colors with the different show more things that the firefly is looking at standing out, especially the part that is lit up. Kids can learn about fireflies, as well as companionship in this book. show less

This book will help children understand how important it is to belong. As the firefly moves from one thing to another he continually is disappointed when he realizes its not like him. A flashlight, a lantern, eyes of an owl, lights on a car, and fireworks he continues to search until he finally finds a group of fireflies just like him flashing their lights...happy ending...great projects that could come out of this.

The Very Lonely Firefly is an engineered picturebook intended for pre-k to 2nd grade. This picturebook utilizes illustration on over half the page spread. The illustrations are very Eric Carle style. He has a distinctive illustration style. The Very Lonely Firefly follows a firefly looking for a friend. He chases lamps, cars, fireworks and more. At the end of the story, there are a bunch of fireflies that all lit up (if the book is not too old and the lights/batteries still work). This book can be utilized in mathematics, English language arts, and science. I enjoyed reading this book as a child and I believe that students would still enjoy reading this book today. For these reasons, I would recommend this book be utilized in a classroom.

I liked this book for a couple of reasons. First, the illustrations really enhance the story. Like most Eric Carle illustrations this book is vibrant and colorful mixed with a variety of interesting textures. For example, the very last page has many fireflies all together. The night sky is a mixture of black, blue and indigo. The fireflies are even lighting up! I found this interesting because its really draws the readers attention.
Another reason I liked this book was the fast paced plot of the story. The lonely firefly starts out alone and then follows different lights where he encounters, a dog, a cat, an owl, and even fireworks. This series of adventures finally leads him to the light he was looking for, which was other fireflies. show more
The big idea of this story is finding friends. The lonely firefly looks all night until he is finally reunited with his friends and is no longer lonely anymore. show less

"The Very Lonely Firefly" is a great addition to Eric Carle's collection of books. It deals with the issue of finding a place to belong and wanting to belong to something. Well written, "The Very Lonely Firefly" is engaging as a lonely firefly searches for other fireflies to be with. After mistaking several other light sources (i.e. a lightbulb, candle, flashlight, fireworks, lantern, etc.) as other fireflies, the lonely firefly finally finds what he is looking for - a group of fireflies flying around together. Eric Carle's collage work is incredible and the images are bright and vibrant.

#1467 in our old book database. Rated: Indifferent

A firefly looks for fellow fireflies but keeps getting misled by other lights in the night. Meanwhile a family rushes out to see surprise fireworks.

Wake me when it's over . . .

Side note: Our copy came with an electronic component that lights up the last page, but the battery has died in the two decades since we bought the book. As I recall, the effect is not worth the price of new batteries.