Matt McAvoy Book Review

If you’ve young children of pre-school age who just won’t get off to sleep without a story, or just those who enjoy nursery rhymes, then this beautifully illustrated picture book is for you.  The drawings, which make up 100% of the page bleed, are truly lovely, and definitely the highlight of a labour of love R. Sheldon has clearly put a great deal of work and heart into.  Okay, the story itself feels something of a mish-mash to this middle-aged reviewer, and I wasn’t entirely clear what the primary message was, but I don’t think that matters, for I am clearly not the target reader of Mitzi the Bitsy Fly, and I really don’t think that your four-year-old will care; it rhymes and the pictures are wonderful, which I’m sure will be enough for them to derive hours of pleasure from.  Some of the verse is a bit iffy, in terms of the vocabulary choice, but what kind of person is seriously going to sit here and pick apart a children’s picture book for quality of prose?  And the illustrations really are wonderful.

To be honest, there are a few moral messages in this book, which is part motivational and part cautionary tale – you’ll just have to read it to find out what they are.  A great read for parents who need a little creative assistance helping the little ones drift off; good, enjoyable fun, which I recommend to all parents of that age group.