The text looks almost like a printed font, and the entries are dated, like a real diary would be. The worm’s-eye view of the world provides a different point of view that young audiences will appreciate, and could lead to a good post-storytime discussion of how things look different from a worm’s point view as opposed to a human’s. Bliss uses watercolor and ink illustrations to bring Worm, his family and friends to life while not overly anthropomorphizing them, he does infuse them with personality. The artwork adds to the appeal of the book. The story includes facts about earthworm behavior that gives young audiences a fun lesson in science: earthworms dig tunnels that help the earth breathe worms cannot walk upside down, and worms have no teeth being just a few fun factoids to take away. His observations are often very funny, as when he talks about spending the day above ground with his family after a rainstorm, and then notes, “Hopscotch is a very dangerous game”, with illustrations from a worm’s point of view.

Recommended to anyone who enjoyed the earlier two diaries, and to anyone looking for children's books that blend fictional and informative elements in an entertaining way.A young worm journals his daily life, writing about his friends, his family, and the pluses and minuses of being a worm. As with the earlier books, I enjoyed the decorative end-papers here, and found Harry Bliss's artwork quite amusing. Then Worm explains what that really means, and she is less thrilled.

When Grandpa Spider, on record in the earlier book as being distinctly unfriendly to insects (especially flies!) explains to Fly that she is an important part of the food chain, she is initially quite pleased. I appreciated the way that Doreen Cronin worked in so many facts about flies in her narrative, and was amused by the continuation of the Spider-Fly tensions begun in Diary of a Spider. Throughout it all, her ever-present desire to be a superhero crops up, eventually finding support when Worm observes that the world needs all kinds of heroes.Like its predecessors, Diary of a Fly pairs an engaging and humorous tale, one which blends fictional story and informative text, with colorful and appealing artwork. Opening in June, this chronicle of an insect's life follows Fly as she heads to school for the first time, as she plays with her many siblings, and as she spends time with her friends Worm and Spider. Following up on their earlier Diary of a Worm and Diary of a Spider, author/illustrator team Doreen Cronin and Harry Bliss present the diary of Fly in this third picture-book.

Diary of a fly by doreen cronin