Publication Date: July 1, 2006 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up
Tedd Arnold's hilarious HI! FLY GUY, originally published in 2005, is now available in paperback with foil on the cover!
Boy and fly meet and so begins a beautiful friendship. Er, and so begins a very funny friendship. Using hyperbole, puns, slapstick, and silly drawings, bestselling author/illustrator Tedd Arnold creates an easy reader that is full of fun.
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Tedd Arnold is the author/illustrator of many best-selling children's books, including No Jumping on the Bed, Green Wilma, Parts, and for Scholastic, the Fly Guy series, Five Ugly Monsters, and Catalina Magdalena. Hi! Fly Guy won the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor for the most distinguished beginning reader book. Tedd lives in Elmira, New York.
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 children and I all love `Fly Guy'. [They are boy and girl: 4 and 6 years-old). They love the wacky drawings and the endearing plot, and I love that this is going to be a great reader for both of them in the near future.
"Hi! Fly Guy" begins with a boy's search for the ultimate pet to take with him to 'The Amazing Pet Show'. Against all odds he decides on a fly. Why? Because his name is Buzz and when the fly "stomped his foot and said - BUZZ!"... well you can see where this is going.
In any case, some great silliness ensues and Buzz manages to convince not only his parents but the judges at the pet contest that they ought to at least consider the notion that a fly can be a pet.
Five Stars. Great story that doesn't talk down to children. Good Read-aloud. This book can be a great early reader. The vocabulary is fairly simple, and the number of words per page is not high (ranging from 2 to about 20 words per page). In addition, the concept of chapters is introduced, although the whole book is small. An example of text from the first 5 pages of the book follows so you can judge for yourself.
A fly went flying.
He was looking
for something to eat -
something tasty,
something slimy.
A boy went walking.
He was looking for
something to catch -
something smart,
something for
The Amazing Pet Show.
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My son is just getting the hang of reading. We have read many of the Hillert and Capuccilli books with great enjoyment. As I was walking through the book store I saw this book. We have enjoyed many of Tedd Arnold's books together through the years. I was thrilled when I opened this one up and saw that it would be perfect and fun practice reading for my son. At first he was skeptical that he would be able to read it alone but after the first couple pages he was reading and giggling along.
Since his first reading he has wanted to share this book with others. I would highly reccommend this as a fun book to make reading enjoyable for those who are just getting into the swing of it.
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My first grader had had this 2 days and he has read it out loud to us and his friend half a dozen times. It has given him a big confidence boost in his reading ability. He even wants to take the book into class so HE can read out loud to them, amazing. It is a funny cute story with adorable illustrations, we want more Fly Guy and Buzz stuff!! Best spent $5.99 this week.
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