Tag Archives: Picture Book

The Fly

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Title: The Fly
Author/Illustrator: Elise Gravel
Published By: Scholastic, 2014

There are three types of people in the world: those who love fiction, those who love non-fiction and those who love both (especially when they come together in a hilarious series of picture books).*

I’m the third type of person, if that wasn’t totally obvious. I love both fictional and non-fictional books, and I especially love the blending of fantastic and realistic elements.

When I first saw Elise Gravel’s books that featured some truly gross main characters, I was intrigued. These books are part of the ‘Disgusting Critters’ series, and they feature such memorable protagonists as:

  • The Fly
  • The Mosquito
  • The Toad
  • The Slug

And many others…including my least favourite of the bunch, head lice. (Fun side note: when my brother and I were in elementary school, about 200/500 kids got head lice one year. My mother was so grossed out by the concept of bugs in our hair that she told us that if we came home with lice, she would kill us. We didn’t know if she was serious or not, but suffice it to say, we didn’t chance it.)

Anyway, these books are fantastic. Despite having moments of super-grossness (like the part in The Fly where the fly is barfing digestive liquids onto its food to soften it), the books are super-informative. My girls absolutely loved this series when they were in senior kindergarten/first grade. They thought it was hilarious…and they actually learned a bunch of fun facts! For instance, in The Spider, they learned that spiders can live in almost any environment. In The Bat, they learned that bats are the only mammals that can fly. In The Rat, they learned that rats are garbage-eating disease spreaders.**

Okay, so all the facts aren’t fun. But they are factual!

The art is adorable (I mean, as adorable as disgusting critters can be), and the text is engaging and entertaining. If you’re hoping to learn some interesting (and super-gross) facts about your (least) favourite critter, this is the series for you!

* Okay, there are probably more types of people in the world than this. Like those who don’t like books at all. But do they really count? Like, really?

*sigh* okay, fine, they do.

** I know lots of rats are adorable and make great pets. But…they’re also objectively kinda creepy.

A Duck Called Brian

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Title: A Duck Called Brian
Author:/Illustrator Al Murphy
Published By: Scholastic Press 2021

I’m not sure I’ve ever told you guys this, but I love ducks. Like, really love. As in, when I see them at a park or by the pond near our house, I literally crouch down and quack at them, hoping they’ll come closer. Sure, they usually look the other way and/or hide their faces due to second-hand embarrassment, but whatever. I’m not going to stop. It’s who I am.

Anyway, when my kids were at the Scholastic Book Fair at their school, they spotted A Duck Called Brian and they knew I must have it. They understand my love of ducks and we’ve all made a secret pact that if the opportunity ever arises, we’ll own a duck and not tell Karl.

Which, you know, will be tricky. How to explain a third, feathered daughter? How to convince Karl it’s maybe some kind of dog breed he’s unfamiliar with? Those are the kinks we have to work out, but that’s a problem for future Jess.

Current Jess is going to tell you all about the book!

It all starts with Brian, a blue duck* Brian is, obviously, quite unique. He has a few likes, including but not limited to milk, Duck Nuts cereal and his best bud, Gregory.

Unfortunately for Brian, his day gets off to a rocky start when he realizes he’s out of Duck Nuts and milk. So, he decides to find Gregory and complain about it to him. (Hey, that’s what besties are for, right?)

Sadly, Gregory is nowhere in sight. Well, nowhere in Brian’s sight. Clever readers will be able to spot Gregory right away — he’s in a hot air balloon, behind the fence, flying an airplane, in a vase, in a crowd…and…well, you get the idea. He’s everywhere, but Brian just doesn’t see him. Brian DOES see other ducks having a blast, but he doesn’t join in on any of the fun. He is a duck on a mission: find Gregory.

Just as Brian is at the end of his rope, he discovers something: a magic door. He goes through it (somewhat accidentally) and ends up in a strange world of magical pink characters (a frog, a crocodile, a snail, anthropomorphic milk). They offer him a free wish — anything he wants!

Brian makes his wish and…it turns out to be exactly what he’d been hoping to find all day. (Spoiler alert: it’s Gregory…but not JUST Gregory!)

The art in this book is super-cute. The simplicity reminds me of Elise Gravel’s work a little bit. The colours are vibrant, and Brian is adorable.

If you’re looking for a good book about friendship, this is one to check out. Also, if you just happen to be obsessed with ducks, you’ll be delighted by this story.

  • I just realized: I’m kind of obsessed with blue ducks. There was one episode of Pokémon where Psyduck (my favourite Pokémon) was blue and I’ve been looking for a figurine/card/sticker/something to prove he really existed in that form ever since. (NB: Lily says it was ‘shiny’ Psyduck, but…he looked blue to me).