Tedd Arnold's previous books about Chip, Parts and More Parts, are raucous, creative knee-slappers that have become true kid favorites-- perhaps because they so humorously express the worries all kids have as they get to know their bodies: worries about belly button fuzz and earwax and loose teeth. Now here's the funniest Parts book yet--one that reintroduces our ner-vous hero while also depicting more than 100 body-part idioms. I lost my head, my nose is running, I sang my heart out . . . You won't be able to keep a straight face as you enjoy this clever, wacky, boldly illustrated book.
Born in Elmira, New York, Tedd grew up in a family of six with three brothers. His family lived on a farm in Pennsylvania for several years then returned to Elmira until Tedd was ten years old. His father's work then required that they move to Gainesville, Florida. There, Tedd's first art lessons in an abandoned dentist's office over the Happy Hour pool hall eventually led to a fine arts degree from the University of Florida. He and his wife, Carol, started their family in Tallahassee where Tedd worked as a commercial illustrator. Carol, a Kindergarten teacher, drew Tedd's attention to children's books. Their first son, Walter, inspired his breakthrough picture book, No Jumping on the Bed!. His second son, William, now stars in No More Water in the Tub!, a sequel to his first book. He has now published more than 30 books as author and illustrator. When not working on his books, Tedd's interests include tennis, sketching, reading, coin collecting, and the computer."The inspiration to begin writing and illustrating for children came from my wife, Carol. As a kindergarten teacher, she collected picture books. I was attracted to their colorful pages and the way the words and pictures played with each other, much like the captioned cartoons I had drawn when I was young."Perhaps the biggest surprise of my career as an author is that I'm now going back to elementary school! Visiting young readers in classrooms and libraries is something I love. Kids keep me on my toes and they ask a lot of questions. The number one question seems to be, 'Where do you get your ideas?' It's also the hardest question to answer because every idea is different. Some ideas seem to pop out of thin air -- while I'm in the shower or walking the dog. Others come from reading or research. But most of my ideas come from my family and the things they do and say."For instance, one time when my first son, Walter, was five years old, I found him lying on the couch, looking pale as a ghost and clutching a Bible to his chest. He was praying! When I asked what was wrong, he wouldn't answer. In fact, he wouldn't even open his mouth. My wife, Carol, finally coaxed a response from him: he pointed inside his mouth. Carol exclaimed, 'You have a loose tooth!' Walter's eyes nearly popped out with fright. We quickly assured him that it was perfectly okay for his tooth to come loose and that a new one would replace it. But Carol and I looked at each other and realized that despite all our efforts to be good parents, we had somehow completely forgotten to warn Walter that teeth fall out! He had thought he was falling apart! I made a little note in my journal; then ten years later, I expanded that memory into my book Parts."Tedd Arnold lives in Elmira, New York, with his wife, Carol, two sons, Walter and William, two cats, Cody and Frankie, and one dog, Hershey.
My 4 1/2 year old son and I loved the first two books in this series. I found the language in this book offensive and did not continue reading after the first 4 or 5 pages. If you prefer not to use the words stupid, crazy, and idiot in your household then this is not the book for you.
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The original Parts was great and my youngster loved reading it over and over. Very funny story.
This third book in the series appears it has gotten to the stage where they are trying to "milk dollars out of the franchise". The style change is a unpleasant surprise and now it is simple one line idiom's which the child audience does not find entertaining. This is not a book I can read to my 4 year old at bedtime since there is only one sentence per page. While some people may find the idiom's interesting, because it is a different style I think they should not have been misleading and included it in the "Parts Franchise" that kids have come to expect as a good read for bedtime.
I feel like I wasted my $12 on this one...I wish I had looked at it at the bookstore instead of relying on the Parts franchise name and buying it sight unseen on Amazon.
- JC / San Jose, CA
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My boys (7 and 3) both love the 'Parts' and 'More Parts' books by Tedd Arnold, so we were very excited to find out that 'Even More Parts' had been published. Unfortunately, we were all a little disappointed in the third book. It is basically a collection of idioms with funny illustrations - "I laughed my head off.", "My eyes are glued to the television.", "Keep your nose out of other people's business.". Tedd Arnold's idea of illustrating idioms as a child would understand them is very funny, but 'Parts' and 'More Parts' were much more enjoyable.
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