April 20, 2015
Bullied kids may sometimes think of their tormentors as giant cockroaches, but for fourth-grade fly Eugene McFly, it's literally the case: Cornelius Cockroach is making his life miserable at Brown Barge Elementary, "which was a brown barge floating in a broken toilet in the center of town." (Hmm.) With alliteration, insect puns, and gross-out gags aplenty, Doodler follows Eugene's misadventures as one of his inventions, the power-amplifying Ultimo 6-9000 (which is cunningly disguised as a piece of key lime pie), turns Cornelius into a supervillain, requiring Eugene and his friend Fred to assume the superheroic roles of Super Fly and his sidekick, Fantastic Flea. Doodler's cartoon illustrations add to the madcap action of a story that sets the stage for future exploits. Ages 5â7. Agent: Erica Rand Silverman, Sterling Lord Literistic.
April 1, 2015
K-Gr 2-Eugene Flystein is a nerdy, unathletic fourth-grade fly living at the edge of the town dump in Stinkopolis. In his spare time, Eugene makes strange inventions that children love, like a homework robot, and plays with his younger sister, Elle. He even makes friends with a flea in the flea circus, Fred. But most of all, he stays out of the way of Cornelius Cockroach, a bully and his arch nemesis. That is, until Cornelius is transformed by one of Eugene's inventions, the Ultimo 6-9000, into a supervillain-Crazy Cockroach. Soon Stinkopolis is being terrorized and robbed by the cockroach, and Eugene must transform himself into Super Fly to save the dump. The drawings and plot in Super Fly might appeal to older readers, but the writing style is definitely for the younger set, possibly even to be included in easy reader collections. Fans of "Captain Underpants" (Scholastic, 2002) will enjoy the potty humor and simple black-and-white illustrations. The only downside is the very basic sentence structure, which would make read-alouds awkward. VERDICT Recommended for elementary and early chapter book collections.-Shalini Miskelly, St. Benedict Catholic School, Seattle, WA
Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
April 15, 2015
Grades 1-3 Eugene Flystein is an unusual fly, preferring books and perfecting his inventions to outside pursuits. He and his family have recently moved to Stinkopolis, where the fourth-grader finds himself the target of class bully Cornelius C. Roacha giant bug who runs off with Eugene's Top-Secret Robot Notebook. Eugene and his new friend Fred Flea botch an attempt to fend off Cornelius with Eugene's Ultimo 6-9000an invention, delivered via key lime pie, that increases intelligence and strength by a factor of 9,000and make a supervillain out of the roach, Crazy Cockroach, who builds an army of robots bent on destroying humankind. Knowing what he must do, Eugene eats the pie and transforms himself into Super Fly. With the help of his sidekick, Fantastic Flea, he battles Cornelius and saves the day . . . but for how long? Unapologetically silly, with plenty of gross-out humor and charming illustrations by author Doodler, beginning readers will thrill to the adventures of Super Fly.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)
July 1, 2015
After accidentally using one of his inventions to turn school bully Cornelius Roach into a super villain, it's up to nerdy housefly Eugene Flystein to become a superhero and save the day. The humor is weak, the plot is slow to get rolling, and even the Captain Underpants crowd (whom this is clearly aimed at) would find this chapter book unsatisfying. Cartoony black-and-white drawings featuring bug-eyed characters may attract some readers.
(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)