The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle

The Very Lonely Firefly Reviews

• 
  Calista

  The end was such a surprise. I wasn't expecting it. It was very pleasing and caused giggles. The kids have read this before and they didn't spoil the ending funny enough. They laughed at me and my surprise. Our book is old and it still work. It creates quite and effect.
  
  I love Eric Carle's work and this is a beautiful book. It's still simple and colorful. The Firefly looking for his people reminds me of the Ugly duckling. Where does he belong in this world. The Ugly duckling is much more complex. This book still does a nice job with that idea of 'Where do I belong?'
  
  The Kids also gave this 5 stars.
• 
  Lauren Stoolfire

  How have I never read this classic picture book before now?
• 
  Miranda

  I absolutely love the end of this with the light up part showing all the fireflies it was a pleasant surprise and the kiddo loved it.
• 
  Ghazaal B.

  Beautiful.
• 
  Mama Bibliosoph

  What we love about this book:
  
  -Common urban animal (firefly) as main character.
  -The art is special and interesting, but not confusing.
  -Carle's collage technique can be used to inspire collage-making (cutting and pasting).
  -Lots of smart, deliberate repetition of key words, phrases, and story patterns help children track what's happening, motivating them to attend. I believe kids feel secure (safe even) and proud of themselves when they can anticipate the next line.
  -Carle signals to children when the book is about to transition to an ending by slightly deviating from the story's format to help them anticipate what's coming. Transitions can be hard in books, just like in real life, and this is a welcome technique for kids who need it. I've learned to change the inflection in my voice, slow down or speed up my reading pace, etc., when I hit these pages to take full advantage of the effect.
  -Academic opportunities (preschool level): Opportunities to tact the objects mentioned that the firefly mistakes for other fireflies: lantern, flashlight, headlights, candle, fireworks, etc.
  -For children ready for more, a great introduction to life science topic of firefly behavior.
  -Electric, flickering lights. These sensory features enhance interest for sensory-seeking kids, promoting an overall interest in books.
  
  ****
  I review books for children from the perspective of a parent of kids with ASD. The review above is the last part (my summary) of a longer blog post about this book and three other Eric Carle books:
  http://www.lineupthebooks.com/in-the-...
• 
  Drew Graham

  A lonely firefly meanders through the night looking for others of its kind. Will it ever find them?
  
  This book gave me a legit *gasp* moment when I reached the last page at the library. It's a fun surprise and a great little story along the way. I don't always love each and every illustration but the style is undeniably unique and appealing.
• 
  Meg McGregor

  This classic of Children's Literature, by Eric Carle explores, how all creatures seek out others, so that they are not lonely.
  
  Beautifully written, and illustrated in Carle's classic style, this book is sure to become a favorite for your little reader.
• 
  gina

  My son liked this one and I hated it. He had like a gazillion million questions while we were reading it which is the last thing I want to do when I'm trying to get a talkative rambunctious toddler to go to sleep. So it's definitely a daytime book when I'm ready for so many questions :)
• 
  Ebony

  Eric Carle is out of touch. This is the tale of a firefly who travels through the night, rejecting opportunities to interact with dogs and cats and lanterns and an owl.
  It finally spots a number of other fireflies who pay it no attention whatsoever.
  The Very Lonely Firefly concludes: "Now the firefly wasn't lonely anymore".
  When it finds a group of other fireflies, it is no longer lonely. Do the fireflies greet the protagonist? Do they so much as look at it? No, Mr Carle. This book has no business dealing with loneliness.
• 
  Adrianne

  Very cute book. As an adult though, I bought it more for the fascination of the book mechanic's, to check out the twinkle-lights built into the back cover of the book.
• 
  Jailah Gamble

  The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle starts off with a scene of the sun setting and becoming night time. The book brings in the main character, the lonely firefly. The lonely firefly is flying through the night trying to find someone that has the same light as he does. On the way he runs into a family and their pets who has different objects that confuses the firefly into thinking they are the same as him. He keeps searching through the night until he finds what he was looking for.
  
  What caught my eye about this book was how interactive the illustrations and small texts on each page interplayed with each other. Another thing that caught my eye was the interactive flashing lights you could see in the book itself, they actually light up! The book itself has amazing illustrations and interacting small bubble texts throughout the story. The author uses onomatopoeia in the texts and some repetitive phrases. There are different shapes within the illustrations of the people and animals. When the story introduces each character that the firefly runs into, you soon realize that they are all connected. This is a high-quality children’s book because the illustrations compliments the text in the story and the story has a character having a problem and he goes through different situations to solve it.
  
  I overall like this book and the author because he creates books that are fun to interact with for younger children to read and play with. It makes the reader amused when there is more to the book than just pictures and writing. I believe that’s a smart element to have with early readers, it helps by grabbing their attention. I read The Very Lonely Firefly as a young adult and I recommend this book to an early reader.
  
  
• 
  Karen Dransfield

  Another classic Eric Carle book. If you get the book new there is a battery operated back cover which flashes lights when you get to it. What was really interesting about this book was the dedication in the from cover by Eric Carle about it books and making a series of stories. I'm wanting to remember what he wrote since I haven't seen it written anywhere else so I'll copy it here. It would make for good points when using the books with kids.
  
  "quote"
  Dear Friends,
  After THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR had been published I wanted to create a VERY quartet. With this book I have achieved that goal.
  1) THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR is about "hope". You, like the little caterpillar, will grow up, unfold your wings and fly off into the future.
  2) THE VERY BUSY SPIDER is about "work". We need to work and finish our tasks despite the many diversions.
  3) THE VERY QUIET CRICKET is about "love". Crickets and people alike search for and hope to find a suitable mate.
  4) THE VERY LONELY FIREFLY is about "belonging". We all want to belong to a group, a family, our own fellow creatures.
  I hope you like my firefly.
  Sincerely,
  Eric Carle.
• 
  Camille Ryckman

  Brief summary - A Firefly searches for other fireflies and happens upon other things that light up at night until he finds the fireflies.
  Annotation A story that builds throughout on what different light sources might be used at night as the firefly ventures on. The pictures are spectacular and the final page where he find the fireflies all the tails light up.
  Age appropriateness 0-4
  Connection to six early literacy skills - I think this book hits all of these early literacy skills
  Print Motivation - it is an engaging story and you want to find out what happens to the firefly
  Vocabulary - lots of different light sources are used and it gives children the change to think of each light source.
  Narrative Skills - The story has a good linear progression with an ending that students want
  Five practices - This hits on reading; the story, the pictures, and the lighting up fireflies make it a book children will want read to them over and over
  Opinion - This is a good book for children to be read to especially at night.
• 
  Angela Sunde

  The last in Eric Carle's quartet of 'Very', The Very lonely Firefly is about belonging. "We all want to belong to a group, a family, our own fellow creatures." – Eric Carle.
  
  This is a lovely book to read aloud to an individual child or group. Children are given the opportunity – through the visual narrative – to guess what each light is. 'But it was not another firefly. It was a...'
  
  For Australian children, who will guess 'torch' instead of 'flashlight', I alter the reading to suit and explain the nuances of varying English-speaking peoples. For example, when the dog goes 'Bow Wow' I ask, 'What do Australian dogs say?'
  
  The book I borrowed from the library had flashing lights on the last page which brought the fireflies to life for the listeners. Magical!
• 
  Mia Balsamo

  PB16: I love Eric Carle picturebooks. I love how his illustrations are different than most other illustrators. I am not sure exactly what he does but the pictures appear to be collages, and they are rough pictures, the lines aren't always straight, faces tend to be boxy, but they work for this book. I also like the use of dark and light; the background is dark because of the night and you can always find the firefly because of his little light. The best part of this book, without question, is the last page where the lonely firefly finds all his firefly friends and they all light up with real little bulbs! As a child that was so exciting to reach the final page!
• 
  Maddie

  A firefly is born and takes its first flight into the night sky searching for his friends. On his journey, he spots many bright lights, but they all turn out to be man created light sources and not his friends at all. This makes the firefly even more lonely than he was at the beginning. He interacts with animals, children, and cars trying to find others still, even falling for fireworks in the great distance. The firefly searched and searched until it finally found the other fireflies with their lights flashing gently in the darkness. (The book actually had light up bugs too, so that was special)
• 
  Amanda-rdg3320

  This was the first book I read to my block kindergarteners on the first day I started there. I was so nervous and the kids were not interested in the book at all, just who in the world I was. But it is a cute book and it had interactives in the back. Its about a firefly who is lonely and travels along looking for some companions. He finally finds a pack of fireflies and at the end of the book when he does find them, the book blinks were all the fireflies butts (?) are. It would be a great story to read and teach the social skill of friendship and community.
• 
  Rochelle Sondae

  I only order the board book version of Eric Carle's books. I think that the board book format is the best format for his books and are a better price point. Really they could be slightly larger as the text is really meant for a 3 to 5 year old. That age range is usually ready for a "regular picture book" format however the price point for those editions are astronomical in my opinion so I keep to the board book edition. This one features sparkling lights on the final spread and as an added bonus the batteries can be replaced.
• 
  Kristen

  We got this from the library, so the ending wasn't as cool as it is meant to be. They either didn't put batteries in it, or they have died. So we didn't get to see the fireflies all light up.
  
  But the story itself was still fun as we follow a lonely firefly trying to find a friend. I liked the repetition to the story and all the different ways that we use light in the world. My daughter really enjoyed this too and she would have LOVED if the fireflies lit up at the end.
  
  We own the Very Quiet Cricket which makes the chirping noise, so we may have to just go out and buy this one too.
• 
  Anna

  The Very Lonely Firefly / Eric Carle / 1995
  Genre: fiction
  Format: picture book
  
  Plot Summary:A lonely firefly goes out into the night searching for other fireflies.
  
  Considerations: none
  
  Review Citation:
  Booklist Reviews, May 1995
  "Its simplicity and its depiction of feeling lonely and finding one's place in a group will appeal to preschoolers. As the flap copy says, "The Very Lonely Firefly is about belonging."
  
  Recommended age: 3-6
• 
  Jon Nakapalau

  Wonderful book that teaches young children that there is always a place where there are others just like them - all you have to do is keep looking!
• 
  Victoria

  The firefly lights on the last page are a BIG hit here
• 
  Surya

  Nice book. In page 12, there was a typo "were" and not "ware"
  
• 
  Mandi

  Awe, I’d love to see fireflies someday 💜 Sweet book!