A fruit fly spies a bright red pomegranate dangling from a branch. What a delicious meal! He thinks. But is someone watching him? Cookie Lin and Liao Chien-Hung depict an entire food chain through a series of shocking surprises.
A wandering fly lays his big eyes on a bright red pomegranate dangling from a branch. He buzzes over, hoping for a delicious meal. But wait! His senses are tingling. Is somebody watching him? Somebody is, in fact – a spider eyes him greedily. But wait! The spider suddenly panics. Is somebody watching him? There’s always somebody watching, and even the hunter with his rifle gets a sudden shock from the lonely pomegranate.
Cookie Lin adapts an ancient Chinese fable about pursuing short-term benefit without thinking of risk into a series of illustrated encounters, each imbued with the animal’s simple inner monologue. The illustrations glow with collaged color, their style somewhat reminiscent of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The author blends her exposition of the concept of the food chain with novelistic excitement, as the “apex predator” is suddenly foiled by a falling piece of fruit.
