12 Apr 2011 2 Comments

“I Spy Fly Guy” by Tedd Arnold

THE BOOK MAMA BASICS

For ages: 4- 7

Gender specific: Boys will love it

Any pictures?: Silly cartoons

How long?: 32 page

Are there more?: 8 or so.

What’s it similar to?: PJ Funnybones or Marvel I-Can-Read.

What’s it cost?: $5.99 on Amazon

Synopsis: Boy and fly meet and so begins a beautiful friendship. Er, and so begins a very funny friendship. Fly Guy’s propensity to hide in a garbage can when he and Buzz play hide-and-seek results in disaster. Fly Guy is carted off to the dump, and when the boy tries to find him, he is faced with a multitude of flies that look, act, and sound exactly like his pal. Using hyperbole, puns, slapstick, and silly drawings, bestselling author/illustrator Tedd Arnold creates an easy reader that is full of fun. (edited from School Library Journal)

Review: If you’re struggling to get a kindergartener or first grader — especially a boy — to read on their own then you may find that “I Spy Fly Guy” by Tedd Arnold is stinky good fun for little readers. It’s the perfect I-Can-Read series for kids just getting the hang of that whole reading thing. The clever storylines don’t talk down to kids. The vocabulary is fairly simple. Told in three easy chapters, the number of words per page is manageable for young readers ranging from 2 to about 20 words per page. And because it’s a series, if they like one, you’ll likely have an easier time getting to read the next one.