![]() “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Be brave. It wasn’t until after college, though, that in reading the book to a nephew I realized the lesson that stamped itself on my person. Like any toddler whose parents read this book to them, apparently I had the big finale memorized before I knew how to read. ![]() ![]() We soon discover, though, that these sounds were caused by “a sheep with an old tin can.” The chain reaction resulting in all the characters running in fear thus began. But the frog isn’t chasing the fly he “ran from the cat, who ran from the dog.” The boy continues his search for the thing behind all the running, and in perfect metaphor to life, it turns out that a man was the first to run, and he ran from sounds of unknown origin. The story is simple: a boy sees a fly go by, and asks him, “Why?” We soon find out that the fly ran from the frog. ![]() With Fritz Siebel’s poignant illustrations as the glue holding a child’s gaze, McClintock’s repetitious prose etches its way into a young listener’s mind. In the classic children’s book A Fly Went By, Mike McClintock harnesses the The Great War’s lesson and with perfect eloquence tells a story that frees children from fear. ![]()
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