Rhyming text and illustrations follow a mischievous old black fly through the alphabet as he has a very busy bad day landing where he should not be. A big bad fly wreaks alphabetical havoc on a household in lilting rhyme that brings readers to a resounding "Swat!" on the very last page. A solid refrain invites partial participation, but the whole sordid story, accompanied by Gammell's energetic vision of this watercolor pest, is easy to remember and chant. Nothing drives a family crazy faster than an old black fly on a hot summer day, especially when the family's a little crazy already. And this fly is as bad as they come. He knows every low-down trick in the book--and won't rest until he's gone through them all. He ate on the crust of the Apple pie. He bothered the Baby and made her cry. Shoo fly! Shoo fly! Shooo.