Diary of a Fly

Cronin, D. (2007). Diary of a fly. New York: Joanna Cotler Books.

Diary of a Fly is an enjoyable book that is sure to entertain any elementary student. This book would be appropriate for K-5. The main character in the book is the fly and the other characters that interact with Fly are Worm and Spider. The setting of the story is mainly at Fly's school. It also takes place at Fly's home as well as outdoors.

At the beginning of the story, Fly is scared about going to school. He learns many exciting things about himself at school that makes him proud to be a fly. He learns about things such as the food chain. Fly tells his friends that he would make an excellent superhero because he can do so many great things such as flying really fast. In the end he learns something that makes him feel very special.

The illustrations in this book are very entertaining. Many silly things happen in the book that makes you laugh and the pictures make it even more enjoyable to read. Fly comes in contact with humans and the pictures are hilarious because the people look huge. (which is what a fly would explain humans looked like if they could talk) The writing style of Diary of a Fly is a diary. Each page includes a date, and tells about certain events that happen in Fly's life. I thought it was really creative for Cronin to use this writing style. Personification is used because the fly is given human qualities. The conflict in the story would be person-again-self because throughout the story, Fly feels like he should be a superhero, and he's trying to talk himself into believing that he can be successful at this. The plot is also episodic because each "diary entry" portrays a different episode and a different date. Diary of a Fly has a backdrop setting. The events in this story could occur anywhere because flies live everywhere.

This book appealed to me because the title seemed intriguing. The fact that it is written as a diary was very interesting and drew my attention to the book. This would be an excellent book to use when teaching students how to write diary entries. Students are able to see how diary entries include dates and include many feelings and thoughts.

BIG question - How can Fly be a special superhero? What types of things can he do to help humans and our Earth?