I have purchased almost all of the books written and beautifully illustrated by Iza Trapani for my numerous neices and nephews. They are loved by the kids as well as their parents. They particularly like Row Row Row Your Boat, which is the newest book in the collection. We anxiously await Ms. Trapani's next book!

As an Early Childhood Education major at Clemson University, I was given the task to review this book for my Children's Literature class. This picture book, written and illustrated by Iza Trapani, is a playful account of a song that everyone is familiar with, Shoo Fly. By the use of many characteristics such as language, illustrations, and overall appeal to young readers, Trapani has written a book that is very marketable for success. First of all, the language in Shoo Fly! is developed throughout the book as being like that of a "sing song" tone. The words are simple and can be easily comprehended. They also flow together being that they are written in a form of meter. An example of this is, "I think the coast is clear - no more buzzing in my ear." It is very important for a young reader to be able to easily grasp what is being presented in any book. North quotes Dorothy Butler in her article as saying, "If children are to love poetry later, they need to discover early the satisfaction, which comes from experiencing form in language." This holds true with Trapani's work because she captures the attention of the readers with her use of fluid language and the form in which she writes. Another facet of the book that allows for comprehension and peaked interest is the illustrations. Trapani uses very vivid colors to depict background scenes where the main character, a mouse, is bothered by a pesky fly that is plaguing him. The images have very soft color schemes and are rounded. These round images allow the reader to have a better grasp of the playful tone of the book. North states in her article that it has been proven that children who are introduced to books in their preschool years, the assumed audience for Shoo Fly!, have a greater advantage than those children who do not have such a literary background. In order to capture the attention of an age group such as that a book must be pleasing and of interest. Trapani succeeds in this manner with the way in which she presents her work. Most importantly, Shoo Fly! does indeed appeal to young readers. This book was taken to a community center and read to children of a preschool age. They enjoyed it and seemed to comprehend what was being said. As North cited, children need to be introduced to these literary works at a young age so that they can further their intellectual base as they get older. Books such as Trapani's help in this quest because in order to introduce the literature to children, such as preschoolers, you must first capture their attention. Through language, illustrations, and overall appeal, Iza Trapani has written a very successful book. She has picked out what appeals to children and elaborated on those areas throughout her work. Attention can be easily given to book that provides humor and effect to adults, but many things have to go into the process of gaining the interest of a child. Shoo Fly! Exemplifies Sue North's principles of introducing books at an early age will benefit the children later.

I bought this book because of the illustrations and it has really colorful drawings of the butcher the baker and the candlestick maker. I enjoyed it because it sticks to original mother goose poem but it also has a quality about it that i have yet to see in any other children's mother goose book. Wonderful gift for a pre k child.

I've had the pleasure of reading this gem to my 3 year old son and he loves it. It's his favorite bedtime story.

Don't let the title of this book steer you away from buying it. This is not the sad little poem we remember from our childhood about the lamb following Mary and getting her into trouble.

In this version, Mary's little lamb decides to be independent and wander around the farm by himself. He does get into a bit of trouble, but at the end of the day, Mary is there to clean him up and tuck him into bed.

The poem is funny, cute, and catchy enough to get your toddler's attention, but the real reason to buy this book is the artwork. Every animal has a wonderful, comical expression on his or her face and there are lots of little details to notice. For instance, there are kitty cats in the background of most of the illustrations that my toddler likes to pick out.

The only thing I don't like about this book is that most of the animals - including the lamb - are referred to as "it" rather than "he" or "she." I don't think it's a good idea to refer to living things as "its" to a small child, so when I read this book I insert "he" and "she" where appropriate.

My son loves to read, and he adores this book. I personally love Trapani's books--while they are not always grammatically correct (the only reason why I don't give it a 5 star rating), they are beautifully illustrated and bring to life some of the most well-known nursery rhymes. It will bring a smile to your child's face!

This book is an extension of the classic Twinkle Twinkle Little Star poem. With several additional verses and beautiful illustrations, children love it. I really enjoyed being able to sing the story instead of read it. It also helps children learn to read the words, because it is easier to memorize rhymning tunes. It is an excellent book to snuggle up and read/sing with a child.