Genre
Canadian fiction
French Canadian fiction
Picture books for children
Subject
Grief
Grief in animals
Insects
Vacuum cleaners

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss. ( )

A richly illustrated tale of unexpected tragedy and how we all (even bugs!) learn to adapt.

This book would make a great resource when helping a young child come to terms with life's unexpected upheavals. I loved the illustrations with thier wealth of unexpected detail and unspoken parallel storyline of loss for the family dog who is separated forever from his stuffed doppelganger. The writing is terse and makes for great read-out-loud theatrics. In short, loveliness all over and highly recommended for all of the picture book crowd.

Thank you to the nice folks at Random House for sending me this review copy. ( )

A little bug just happens to be flying along and minding its own business, when it ends up in a house. Just when it begins to get comfy...whoosh! One minute the little bug is innocently just sitting there, and the next minute, it finds itself trapped inside a cavernous metal container. What is a bug to do?
With nothing but dust bunnies to talk to, the little bug starts wondering why. This can't really be happening...or can it? After a bit of questioning, bargaining, sadness, and lots of drama, the little bug must make a choice. And just when it accepts its fate of being stuck inside a vacuum, the unexpected happens.

The Bottom Line: Have you ever wondered what happens to the little spiders and bugs that get swallowed up by the vacuum cleaner? Well, this clever picture book takes you along the journey of one trapped bug. With a little bit of humor, Watt illustrates the stages of grief that we all go through at some point in our lives with this thoughtful and sensitive picture book featuring bold artwork in mixed media. Highly recommended for kids ages 5 - 9 going through unexpected turmoil or loss.

This review also appears at the Mini Book Bytes Book Review Blog. ( )

This is one of those books that has more to it than you initially thought. One the one side it is a picture book about a fly that gets sucked up into a vacuum on cleaning day. But in reality it is a creative look at the five states of grief that was introduced by Kubler-Ross in 1969.

So the emotion journey of this fly in the vacuum cleaner goes through each of the five stages: Denial, Bargaining, Anger, Despair, and Acceptance. The stages are cleverly revealed using advertising products that were in the original house, but have changed in purpose and meaning since the fly has entered the emotional journey.

As each phase of grief is presented, the fly demonstrates his feelings through his actions by using the items inside the vacuum cleaner. The pictures fall into the class of artwork that the more you look at it the more you see and the more you see the more you understand.

But there is also a similar, simpler storyline happening with the family dog that lost his favorite toy to the vacuum cleaner as well. So the fly shows you the long version and the dog shows you the reader's digest condensed version....which makes this a book suitable for all age readers.

The author and the illustrator are the same which kicks this book up a notch in my opinion.

LOVE the definitions in the beginning - which both definitions sums up the book in a simple creative concept
BUG (buhg)
* an insect
* An unexpected glitch

Vacuum (vak-yoom)
* A cleaning machine
* A void left by loss

It [the fly] was on top of the world when it happened.
Its entire life changed with the switch of a button.
NOTE: Illustration shows fly sitting on top of the world (or a globe in this case) with the vacuum cleaner coming up suddenly behind him.

Also love the fly's imagination as he rearranges his world using what is around him...love the spider created from a comb, push pins, buttons, etc.

Then the book ends and everything is OK -- the fly does make it out of the vacuum eventually but EVERYTHING has changed for everyone. Would make a great discussion book for kids and adults. ( )