Laura Giuffrida (text) and Rob McHaffie (illustrator), Get That Fly!, Book Ink Publishing, April 2024, 28 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780648459316
Anyone who has ever lived through an Australian summer with annoying flies will identify with this picture book. Told in rhyming couplets, the story relates the growing frustration of a couple who are about to relax for the evening but are being stalked by a most persistent fly.
The husband retires, leaving his wife to continue the hunt. However, all her efforts to get rid of the fly are in vain, even their family cat and dog have no luck. In the end, exhausted by the chase, she gives up and falls asleep.
The colourful illustrations depict the series of disasters as the couple chase the fly around their house – the cat and the dog are particularly well drawn. An imaginative touch is the bookmark with the drawing of a fly swat.
Both the author and artist reside in Castlemaine in Central Victoria where the author has established Book Ink Publishing.
Ages 3-5.
Reviewed by Elizabeth Douglas
