Pajama Press

Posts Tagged ‘insects’

Resource Links highly recommends Revenge on the Fly

Posted on July 3rd, 2014 by pajamapress

RevengeOnTheFly_C“Will Alton and his father are new immigrants to Canada. They are learning that Ontario in 1912 is not a welcoming place for immigrants and that the grand life they dream of is elusive. Will sees a chance to better their circumstances when he enters a fly-catching problem. The question is, how far is he willing to go to catch enough flies to win?

I enjoyed this book tremendously. The story moves quickly, and Will is an immensely appealing narrator. Will is intelligent but also crafty; honest, but not above bending the rules to his own interests. He’s also sensitive, having lost his younger sister and then his mother, and it is this aspect of his personality that makes Will’s ultimate revenge on the fly so complex and so satisfying. The idea of fly-collecting contest – as disgusting as it might seem to us today – was inspired by real events and real historical figures. This inspiration offers a unique and unexpected way to explore Will’s larger story.

Beyond the main plot, readers will find many absorbing themes, such as issues of poverty and class, bias and discrimination, sickness and loss. The story identifies emerging urban tensions (such as cars displacing horses, the luxury of indoor plumbing, which only some possess, and the need for government-mandated public health policy), but does so within the context of Will’s telling, so that the text never feel didactic, dry of stuffy. This is a book that will reward follow-up conversations, and it could be well used in the classroom.

One feature I particularly appreciated about this book was its intense focus on Will’s physical world. Sensory details are brilliantly captured, enriching our sense of history and the immediacy of the story. We smell with Will the awful garbage and rotting manure he digs through in pursuit of flies, see the ragtag boarding-house he and his father inhabit, taste the sweet and tart Christmas memory an orange evokes, feel the sting of the strap he receives for disobeying the principal and its throb for hours afterward. And of course we see and hear and feel the thousands of flies Will kills – an ick factor that adds a delicious frisson to the story. Certainly part of the enjoyment of the book comes from its physical presentation. The copy I read has a gigantic, highly detailed fly laminated on the back cover (as well as numerous smaller laminated flies on the front cover), so that as I read, I was constantly touching the raised graphic and reminded of the fly and the evil it represents to Will – a very effective design decision!

Revenge on the Fly is an excellent book, one I expect to see nominated for awards in the coming months. It will make readers laugh, cringe, shudder – and think. I recommend it highly.

Thematic links: Insects; Health; Canadian History”

– Leslie Vermeer

Casey’s True Blue Insect Guide

Posted on September 1st, 2012 by pajamapress

Casey, one of the central characters in Deborah Ellis‘ murder mystery True Blue, has always known she will be an entomologist. In fact, her classmates nickname her “Praying Mantis.” True Blue is full of insects and insect information, but did you ever wonder what all those creepy crawlies really look like? If so, then you need…

Casey’s True Blue 

Insect Guide

 

Praying Mantis

Photo by John

Photo by John

Dragonfly

Photo by MONGO

Photo by MONGO

Anthomyiid Fly

Photo by Quark 67

Photo by Quark 67

Whirligig Beetle

Photo by Erin Hayes Pontius

Photo by Erin Hayes Pontius

Pond Skaters

Photo by Anne Burgess

Photo by Anne Burgess

Leech

Photo by Mike E. Talbot

Photo by Mike E. Talbot

Grasshopper

Photo by R.S.

Photo by R.S.

Black Swallowtail

Photo  by Kretven

Photo by Kretven

Spring Field Cricket

Photo by Vespula Vulgaris

Photo by Vespula Vulgaris

Pavement Ants

Image Source: Encyclopedia Britannica 11th Ed.

Image Source: Encyclopedia Britannica 11th Ed.

True Blue Cockroach

Actually, this endangered insect is so rare that we were not able to locate an image of it.  If you have one, let us know!

American Cockroach

Photo by Eran Finkle

Photo by Eran Finkle