Old Black Fly

A wonderful, whimsical alphabet book that really put me in a good mood. We follow on the trail of a fly as it wreaks havoc on a family's household. The illustrations may not be to everyone's taste but I found them really original and refreshing, they're gross yet beautiful at the same time . The alphabet rhyme is fun, but the illustrations are so stunning that I went ahead and ordered a few more of [a:Stephen Gammell's|232483|Stephen Gammell|https://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-e89fc14c32a41c0eb4298dfafe929b65.png] books.

we follow the an old black fly as he buzzes through the alphabet, -in verse no less--until he finally meets his end SPLATT!!
Lots of repetition and a great refrain-- fun to read and fun to play - this is a great auditory read a loud. A big hit with the preschool crowd -- after they got over the initial shock of old black flies untimely demise-- they loved it.
Steve Gammell's illustrations are, as always, bright and powerful.

I liked this book because of the illustrations. I really liked the colors throughout the book because they seemed to match the mood of the story. For example, on the letter “B” page, a baby is crying because the fly is “bothering the baby.” The colors surrounding the crying baby are mostly dark blues and purples which are commonly associated with sadness and crying. I also really like the expressions of the characters. For example, on the “R” page, the fly “rode on the red ribbon on her head.” The illustration then goes to show a very angry woman. Without this illustration, the depth of her annoyance and mood of the page would have been lost.
I also really like this book because of the use of alliteration. Many pages, show more such as the previously mentioned “R” page, use the letter assigned to that page and repeat the sound again and again. Another example of this is from the “S” page. “He sniffed the salami that sister sliced.”
The main purpose of the book is to practice the alphabet, and the varying sounds a letter can make. show less

Fun interactive story with great illustrations, it reminds me of the story, the Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. It is a continuous story that includes all the letters of the alphabet in a very creative way. The illustrations are surprising, engaging, and at times scary.

The colors are amazing!! They look to be paint splatters than the drawings were incorporated within them. It was almost like playing hide and seek with the fly!! The book did a great job at doing the alphabetical and having a story line to it. It's great for kindergartens during story time.

A hilarious book that sees the household, from A to Z, through the activities of a particularly yucky fly, who finally gets his gory messy comeupance at the end. Kids who are into squishy messy icky things will probably get a real kick from this book.

I enjoyed the artwork in the Old Black Fly and Hey, Pancakes. The artwork tells a story and in particular the journey of the fly through the home is illustrated with excellence. The story is just simple and poetic. The illustrations enhanced the theme by mapping out the journey and the frustrations of the people and animals the fly encounters.