Book Review: Flying Free by Jennifer C. Gregg

by Hannah Crawford

Seen through the eyes of a firefly, the moonlit backyard of five-year-old Violet’s house is a magical place, full of blossoming flowers and friendly flying insects. Unfortunately for Firefly, the protagonist of Flying Free, it is also Violet’s hunting grounds. She captures him in a glass jar with the clever plan of using him for a nightlight.

Despite Firefly’s distress at being caged, this is actually a sweet story that will hold kids’ attention with a hint of suspense—how will Firefly escape? With a little help from her moms, Violet decides to let him go on her own. The sadness she feels seems to be temporary, though, as the story ends with her sleeping contentedly in the light of her new firefly-shaped nightlight.

Though the story is told from Firefly’s perspective, it is also about Violet and her family—Mama Red and Mommy Blue. They do a great job of reacting to Violet’s unrealistic idea of keeping the firefly as her friend and nightlight. They help her punch holes in the lid of the jar and fill it with grass and twigs, and eventually help her decide to let him go.

The illustrations by Janna Richards show cartoon-like bugs and a young Violet with extraordinarily large eyes, which presumably serve her well when she is catching bugs in her backyard. In fact, the bugs look so friendly you might have to worry about your kids wanting to catch bug pets in their own backyards! Kids will also have fun looking for hidden treasures in the pictures, like a snoozing mouse and the firefly-shaped nightlight that Violet gets after she frees her previous nightlight.

For children aged 2-6, Flying Free is published by Booksurge, LLC. It is available at Amazon.com.