This tiny little fly will empower your child!
From Tiny Little Fly by Michael Rosen, Illustrated by Kevin Waldron (Walker Books, 2010) | Illustration © 2010 Kevin Waldron
The winter fly I spared— Issa Storytime should be part of every child's daily routine.
Was captured by
The cat
The very act of engaging with your children on an intimate, focussed level is as important as reading the story itself. This is particularly true with babies and very young children since there is so much at stake:
Study after study shows that early reading with children helps them learn to speak, interact, bond with parents and read early themselves, and reading with kids who already know how to read helps them feel close to caretakers, understand the world around them and be empathetic citizens of the world.
- Why it's important to read aloud with your kids, and how to make it count
So storytime may not always go as smoothly as you'd like.
So what!
Interruptions.
Toilet breaks.
Parents nodding off. (Guilty!).
Maybe your child just wants to tell you about a digger they saw earlier that day. Perhaps they are intent on racing ahead to find their favourite part of the story.
That's all OK - and normal!
Still, for all these reasons (and more), it's often the most straightforward stories that work best for little ones. They help focus the attention. They don't last too long.
Frankly, they are often a breath of fresh air.
One such book is Tiny Little Fly by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Kevin Waldron (Walker Books 2010).
Spotting this oversized picture book on display in a Foyles in London was a memorable experience. With its blazing orange tiger on the front cover, it practically leapt off the shelf at me, roaring, "Pick me up! Open me! Read me". And when I did, I fell in love with its beautiful design.
From the choice of aged, background papers and faux typeset lettering, Tiny Little Fly has a lovely, antiquated (and retro) feel. For me, this is part of its charm. (A deliberate move on the part of illustrator Waldron: "The idea that a book has been around for decades and appreciated by different owners appeals greatly to me".)
Former Children's Laureate Micheal Rosen makes Tiny Little Fly feel deceptively simple. He is, of course, a master wordsmith. So each word is used to maximum effect, expressing a surprising amount. His rhyming text is fun, 'full of movement and drama' and an absolute joy to read aloud. Why describe an elephant as 'stomping' when you can up the drama and write TRAMP! CRUSH! TRAMP! (as Rosen does) instead?!
There is, of course, plenty of buzzing from Tiny Little Fly - denoted by trailing, loopy lines (which kids will enjoy tracing with their fingers). Fly may be small, but he's a cheeky chap, zipping through the jungle to pester the other animals. Whenever he encounters someone new, the animal is only partly revealed, inviting your child to guess its identity.
My oh my,
Tiny Little Fly!
Tiny Little Fly
Sees great big toes…
From Tiny Little Fly by Michael Rosen, Illustrated by Kevin Waldron (Walker Books, 2010) | Illustration © 2010 Kevin Waldron
All is revealed when the page is turned.
Tiny Little Fly
Sits on Elephant’s nose.
After Elephant, Great Big Hippo - then that glorious tiger!
Fly is tiny. The other animals are SO BIG, they have to be squashed to fit the book's confines. Spilling over and across onto subsequent, sprawling spreads emphasises their size difference. And each time, the reader is left to search for Tiny Little Fly.
On this subject, Rosen notes,
And neither can Tiny Little Fly!
The whole book feels like a game: Cheeky Fly buzzes about, pestering the other animals - leading to the repeated refrain, My oh my, Tiny Little Fly!
(Regular readers will note that I often single out such repeated refrains. Why? Because their familiarity is engaging, empowering even the youngest to join in. When this happens, your child is practising her language skills, experiencing the joy of reading, and - best of all - connecting more deeply with you.
Tiny Little Fly also contains the Holy Grail of picture books: A giant fold-out spread. It allows the sprawling animals one last attempt to catch their nemesis, who appears even smaller and quick-witted as he escapes off the page: Fly! Fly! Fly!
Little ones will enjoy everything about this book. Had it been around in the 70s, Tiny Little Fly would undoubtedly be one of those iconic stories from my preschool years that seared itself into my memory.
Big, juicy animals!
The rhyme!
The fun!
Right down to the enjoyment of tracing the fly's flight path across those big, open pages…
Finally, it's Great Big Tiger's turn. She winks one eye and says to herself, "I'm going to catch that fly!"
Like Elephant and Hippo before her, Great Big Tiger fails.
Tiny Little Fly almost - but never quite - gets himself obliterated!
No wonder Tiny Little Fly is so relatable to young kids! In the character of the fly, they see a kindred spirit.
He is a hero (of sorts) for all small, put-upon individuals dictated to left, right and centre (and told to buzz off).
So however tempted Rosen may have been to satisfy his urge to rhyme, he puts his readers first.
The fly does not die.
No matter how hard the great, big animals try.
(Their attempts to catch him don't even make him cry.)
Why?
Because he's a super fly guy!
And readers everywhere will be delighted that he survives to pester someone another day.
Tiny Little Fly,
Winks one eye…
"See you all soon.
Bye, everyone, bye!"
From Tiny Little Fly by Michael Rosen, Illustrated by Kevin Waldron (Walker Books, 2010) | Illustration © 2010 Kevin Waldron
STORIES WORTH SHARING: Tiny Little Fly by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Kevin WaldronGood to Read because:
It's joyful, lively and funny!
It engages children on several levels:
With the repeated refrain, My oh my, Tiny Little Fly!
The descriptive verbs - TRAMP! CRUSH! ROLL! SQUASH! SWOOP! SNATCH! - encourage kids to act out;
The fly leaves a satisfying trail to trace with your finger!
As a predictive text - the illustrations encourage children to guess what will happen next.
For newly independent readers, the 'large font, and predictable language will allow for success.'
Kids will relate to, and be empowered by, the little fly!
Good to ReadBig-Small Animal Stories.
Big & Small by Elizabeth Bennett, ill. by Jane Chapman
Bartholomew and the Bug by Neal Layton
Tiny Little Fly by Michael Rosen, ill. by Kevin Waldron
Horton Hears a Who by Dr Seuss
DANGEROUS! by Tim Warnes
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Tiny Little Fly by Michael Rosen, Illustrated by Kevin Waldron (Walker Books, 2010) | Illustration © 2010 Kevin Waldron
‘Immediately engaging and quite unforgettable. With rhythmic text and clever use of sound words, this is a great read-aloud.’
- Love Reading 4 Kids‘As a read-aloud, this book will have children joining in, chanting, "My, oh my, Tiny Little Fly!" As an independent read, the text-picture correspondence, large font, and predictable language will allow for success.’
- The Classroom Bookshelf Buy UK* I earn commission from the link above #AD SOURCESTiny Little Fly by Michael Rosen, ill. by Kevin Waldron (Walker Books 2010)Haiku: Classic Japanese Short Poems translated by Hart Larrabee (Amber Books 2016) Why it's important to read aloud with your kids, and how to make it count by Amy Joyce (Washington Post, 16 Feb 2017)Tiny Little Fly by Michael Rosen and Kevin Waldron - Review by Marzena and Dominic (The Guardian, 7 Oct 2012) Tiny Little Fly (Books Trust) I Love It When An Illustrator Surprises Me (Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, 16 Dec 2010) Tiny Little Fly (Hot Cross Mum, 27 Oct 2010) Why Pre-Readers Should Get to Enjoy Books Independently (And How to Help Them Learn to Do It) By Lindsay Barrett (Readbrightly.com) Tiny Little Fly (theclassroombookshelf.com, 3 Jan 2011) © 2020 BY TIM WARNES(UNLESS OTHERWISE ATTRIBUTED)**** USE OF THIRD-PARTY COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL FALLS UNDER FAIR USE/FAIR DEALING PRACTICE.
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