The Incredible Adventures of Mary Jane Mosquito

Gr 3–5—Sporting stubs instead of wings, Canadian-born Mary Jane Mosquito is constantly belittled by her nasty teacher and cruel mosquito classmates. Moving to Winnipeg to live with her aunt, she attends a diverse school open to insects of all types. However, when they, too, reject her, she takes out her frustrations by threatening the housefly Minnie Matouche with a can of Raid. When Aunt Flo finally explains that one acquires friends only through kindness and love and by sharing one's gift, Mary Jane decides to go on tour and share her talent for song with others, who become her friends. In an oversize format filled with intensely colored block prints, this print version of a one-act, one-woman musical commissioned by Stratford Summer Music (a multiweek festival in Canada) features stylized figures in both full- and half-page illustrations. Dedicated to disabled children, the story uses audience participation as Mary Jane sings in English, French, and her native "mosquito language," but without an accompanying CD, elementary readers will have to invent the music. Despite the appealing premise, the plot is too obvious, and the idea that audience members whom the protagonist meets only briefly could be considered "friends" is a little forced. A couple of Canadian references are not explained and will likely be incomprehensible to American listeners.