Starred Review for Publishers Weekly (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

With characteristic simplicity-and the now expected visual ``surprise'' at book's end-Carle delivers another heartwarming tale about a diminutive creature on a quest. In the author/artist's words, his latest story """"is about belonging."""" As the sun sets, a firefly is born: """"It stretched its wings and flew off into the darkening sky."""" Searching for other fireflies, the lonely little guy flies hopefully toward other lights (a bulb in a window, a candle, a flashlight, the shining eyes of an owl, car headlights, fireworks), only to discover that they are not what he is looking for. Youngsters will be as tickled as the no-longer-lonely firefly to find, on the last spread, """"a group of fireflies, flashing their lights""""-with the help of replaceable batteries (final version not seen by PW). Carle's richly hued, collage-like art and gentle text will be comfortingly familiar to his numerous young devotees. Ages 4-up. (June)

ALA Booklist

Born one evening as the sun sets, a little firefly stretches its wings and goes off looking for others of its kind. Attracted by the lights, it flies toward a candle, a flashlight, a lantern, and finally a sky full of fireworks, only to be disappointed. When everything quiets down, though, other fireflies come out and flash their lights. The little firefly isn't lonely anymore. Although the text may not be as strong as in Carle's best picture books, its simplicity and its depiction of feeling lonely and finding one's place in a group will appeal to preschoolers. As the flap copy says, The Very Lonely Firefly is about belonging The illustrations, collages of painted papers, make strong visual statements in the artist's signature style. (Reviewed May 15, 1995)

Horn Book

In this fourth book in a series that began with 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' (Philomel), a lonely newborn firefly flits through a summer night looking for companions but finds, instead, a lightbulb, a candle, a flashlight, and the headlights of a car taking a family to a fireworks display. When the 'sparkling and glittering and shimmering' of the fireworks subside, the firefly happily finds a group of fireflies, which actually twinkle when the readers turns to the last page.

Kirkus Reviews

Twenty-five years after The Very Hungry Caterpillar (1968) ate his way through a remarkable book, another Very book, about a firefly in search of company, shows a master of bold, dramatic design in search of a story. A lone firefly ``born as the sun sets'' follows a family's candle, flashlight, and lantern to a quarreling dog, cat, and owl, whose eyes reflect lights. The family drives to a fireworks display. The firefly follows their headlights and finds a sky full of fireflies, tails blinking. With or without batteries, Carle's creations have plenty of spark; what he needs is a warmer, friendlier story. Except for the endearing firefly and owl, the characters are static and the balloons of text out of place in the artwork. The finished book is to include battery- powered flashing tails; an author's note appears on the book jacket. (Picture book. 3-8)"

School Library Journal

K-Gr 1--This final addition to the ``Very Quartet'' is classic Carle in both story and illustrations. It's a natural continuation of his other stories about insects that teach young readers universal emotions, needs, and a variety of other concepts. The illustrations help the story unfold, as readers see a newborn firefly at the end of its first day. It searches for companionship, mistaking a lightbulb; candle; flashlight; lantern; dog, cat, and owl eyes; headlights; and fireworks for its own kind. Finally, it discovers a group of fireflies, giving him the gift of companionship. There's also evidence of a sublayer of the belonging theme here, as a human family is portrayed discovering the fireworks display. The illustrations are painted cut-paper collages, designed to draw the eye to the page. This is a compelling accomplishment that will leave readers and listeners alike wishing Carle would turn the quartet into a quintet. A guaranteed winner as a read-aloud or read-alone.--Christina Dorr, Calcium Primary School, NY