Tag Archives: fly guy

Review: Prince Fly Guy

The Basics

princeflyguy
Title: Prince Fly Guy
Author: Tedd Arnold
ISBN: 9780545662758
Copyright Date: 2015
Publisher: Scholastic
Reader Brand: N/A
Level: N/A
Series: Fly Guy

Thoughts

Buzz is writing a fairy tale with the help of Fly Guy who has his own opinions about how the story should go. Fly Guy imagines himself as the handsome prince in Buzz’s story. But will they both get their happily ever after?

Funny, imaginative, and another fabulous addition to this series. Fly Guy’s interpretation of the story is told in thought bubbles as Buzz writes the story. Fly Guy is very expressive when he doesn’t like where the story is headed and I think that will help readers looking for context clues. I really enjoyed when Fly Guy got so caught up in the story that he didn’t offer any more suggestions to Buzz.

A definite buy if you’ve got Fly Guy fans!

Geisel 2006 Award & Honors

For more information about the Geisel Award, visit the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award homepage.

henryandmudgeandthegreatgrandpas
Winner: Henry and Mudge and the Great Grandpas by Cynthia Rylant

Henry and Mudge are off to visit Henry’s great-grandpa. He lives in a house with lots of other grandpas. The grandpas love it when Henry and Mudge visit. Henry and Mudge bring gifts and also give lots of love. After a swim in the pond by the grandpas’ house, everyone returns home for a big pot of spaghetti.

This four chapter beginning reader will allow readers to take breaks in between chapters if they need it. Some of the vocabulary is harder than most beginning readers (skivvies for example), but it’s immediately defined for Henry and subsequently for beginning readers as well. Lots of pictures supports the text and there’s still enough white space/non-text space for readers.

“Henry and Mudge and the Great Grandpas” is the twenty-sixth adventure of the pair and I have no doubt that the series has more volumes in it to come.

geiselhonors2006

Honor: Hi! Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold

The first book in the Fly Guy series introduces both characters: Fly Guy and Buzz. Fly Guy meets Buzz one day and Buzz keeps Fly Guy as a pet since Fly Guy knows his name. This fun and humorous series is a great step-up for readers after they’ve finished Elephant and Piggie but continue to want funny stories.

Honor: A Splendid Friend, Indeed by Suzanne Bloom

When Bear meets Goose, he isn’t sure this is his kind of friend. Goose asks way too many questions when Bear is doing quiet activities. But when Goose brings back a note about how Bear is his ‘splendid friend’, Bear can’t resist tearing up. This is a wonderful picture book that definitely supports a beginning reader.

Honor: Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa by Erica Silverman

Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa spent the day together. They tell stories, surprise each other with gifts, count cows, and spend the night together in the barn. They are the best of friends and a really great team. This upper level beginning reader will attract horse lovers and readers almost ready to move on to chapter books.

Honor: Amanda Pig and the Really Hot Day by Jean Van Leeuwen

Amanda Pig is having a really hot day. Every part of Amanda is hot, even her hair ribbons! Amanda tries to find a variety of ways to cool down: sitting under a tree, drinking and selling lemonade, and waiting for a cool breeze. This beginning reader series will appeal to all, but especially siblings because of the dynamics between Amanda and Oliver.

Geisel 2010 Award & Honors

For more information about the Geisel Award, visit the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award homepage.

bennyandpennybignono
Winner: Benny and Penny in the Big No-No by Geoffrey Hayes

This is not the first graphic novel to garner the attention of the Geisel Award committee, but it is the first graphic novel to take home the gold medal!

Benny and Penny are playing outside when Benny discovers his pail is missing. He thinks the new neighbor might have taken it and travels into their yard — a big no-no — to try and find it.

This is an excellent beginning reader. The action of the story is familiar to most young children (playing, sharing, crying, etc.) and will be easily understood. I love the expressive pictures that will help struggling readers follow along. But my favorite part of the book is actually the back matter which explains to parents how the “Toon Into Reading” program can help young readers. These five tips are great to give to parents just starting to navigate the waters of beginning readers.

A fun and humorous story that children of all ages can relate to.

geiselhonors2010

Honor: I Spy Fly Guy! by Tedd Arnold

Another wonderful addition to this series. In this one, Buzz and Fly Guy and playing hide-and-seek. When Fly Guy flies into a garbage can and gets taken away by the garbageman, Buzz stops at nothing to find his friend. This story has lots of repetitive words and is clearly supported by the illustrations. A great beginning reader for kids looking for friendship stories.

Honor: Little Mouse Gets Ready by Jeff Smith

Little Mouse’s mama wants him to get ready so that they can go to the barn. Little Mouse spends all his time putting on his clothes piece by piece until mama reminds him that mice don’t wear clothes! Word bubbles help kids figure out who is doing the talking in this book and the illustrations are done in a cartoon style. Excellent punch line at the end.

Honor: Mouse and Mole: Fine Feathered Friends by Wong Herbert Yee

Mouse and Mole are two friends who both want to observe the birds to make bird books. But the birds are scared of them and their noises. But these fine feathered friends come up with a plan to see the birds and to make the best possible bird book. Told in four chapters, this is a beginning reader for older readers. Give it to kids who enjoyed Frog & Toad or any of the Rylant series.

Honor: Pearl and Wagner: One Funny Day by Kate McMullan

Wagner is being tricked left and right on April Fool’s Day. Everyone thinks the jokes are funny except for Wagner. That is until he comes up with his own joke! Told in three chapters, this beginning reader will have readers laughing along as poor Wagner navigates his funny day.

Review: Fly Guy Presents Insects

The Basics

flyguypresentinsects
Title: Fly Guy Presents Insects
Author: Tedd Arnold
ISBN: 9781480671782
Copyright Date: 2015
Publisher: Scholastic
Reader Brand: N/A
Level: Level 2 (on the back of the book it says it appeals to K-2nd grade but is a 2nd grade level)
Series: Fly Guy

Thoughts

An upper level, informative, non-fiction reader. Buzz and Fly Guy learn all about insects in this volume.

The book is presented in a classic throwback style to the Magic School Bus. There are photographs mixed with the story, hand-drawn journal entries, labels, dialogue bubbles, etc. The layout could potentially be distracting to a young reader, but will draw in older readers. It measures at a 570 Lexile level.

Difficult words have phonetic pronunciation guides embedded in the text. I think they could have been a few more pronunciation guides — words like thorax and abdomen are not words that have a guide — and I wish that a lot more of the insect names would have had guides.

Overall, I absolutely love this set of non-fiction readers and think that readers will too. Highly recommended for all libraries, but especially those with a Fly Guy fan base.

Series to Know: Fly Guy

Series Info

First five “Fly Guy” books.

Books:

  1. Hi! Fly Guy (2005)
  2. Super Fly Guy (2006)
  3. Shoo Fly Guy (2006)
  4. There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Fly Guy (2007)
  5. Fly High, Fly Guy (2008)
  6. Hooray for Fly Guy (2008)
  7. I Spy Fly Guy! (2009)
  8. Fly Guy Meets Fly Girl(2010)
  9. Buzz Boy and Fly Guy(2010)
  10. Fly Guy Vs. the Flyswatter (2011)
  11. Ride, Fly Guy, Ride! (2012)
  12. There’s a Fly Guy In My Soup (2012)
  13. Fly Guy and Frankenfly (2013)
  14. Fly Guy’s Amazing Tricks (2014)

Publisher: Scholastic

Links: Parents Resource Guide || Author Website

Awards: 2006 Geisel Honor (for Hi, Fly Guy!), 2010 Geisel Honor (for I Spy Fly Guy), 2008 Cybils Finalist (for Fly Girl Meets Fly Girl), 2008 Monarch Nominee (for Hi, Fly Guy).

Reviews: Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus, School Library Journal, Bulletin

Difficulty

Hi! Fly Guy is divided into three chapters. No more than four simple sentences are on each page. For example:

They met. The boy caught the fly in a jar. “A pet!” he said.

The text does a good job on building the reader’s knowledge. By the end of the book, most words have already been introduced so when the text does get longer, the reader will have already seen most of the words before. There are just over 100 unique words used in the text. Extra words in the illustrations bring the count to 113 unique words.

The rest of the series follows suit. Some books build on previous knowledg: There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Fly Guy definitely works best for readers if they are familiar with the song while Buzz Boy and Fly Guy will be most appreciated by readers familiar with graphic novels/comics.

As with every series, the range of unique words and difficulty level can fluctuate, so I’ve provided the Lexile range and Accelerated Reader ranges. Series range for Lexile: 170-420 and Accelerated Reader: 1.3-2.1.

Thoughts

The adventures of Fly Guy and Buzz begin when Buzz is looking for a pet and finds Fly Guy. Once Fly Guy proves to The Amazing Pet Show judges that he is indeed a pet, Buzz and Fly Guy’s friendship is cemented. Their adventures take them to lots of places and new situations, but at its core, the Fly Guy series is about friendship.

While this series definitely has a male main character, I think that the series will absolutely be accessible for all kinds of readers. The shiny, pretty covers are definitely eye-catching and the content will keep readers coming back for more.

More Fly Guy?

flyguypresentsFly Guy has produced two spin-off series so far. The first is a non-fiction reader series which follows Buzz and Fly Guy as they learn about different non-fiction topics.

In Fly Guy Presents: Sharks, they visit an aquarium. Photography is well utilized and difficult vocabulary words have phonetic pronunciation guides embedded in the text. Readers already familiar with Fly Guy will definitely want to “grow up” with these non-fiction books.

Books:

  1. Fly Guy Presents: Sharks (2013)
  2. Fly Guy Presents: Space (2013)
  3. Fly Guy Presents: Dinosaurs (2014)
  4. Fly Guy Presents: Firefighters (2014)
  5. Fly Guy Presents: Insects (2015)

apetforflyguyAnd in 2014, Fly Guy also got a picture book treatment, even though he started as a reader first. I actually haven’t had the chance to re-read this one myself since it has seriously been checked out consistently since we purchased it. I’m glad that readers that connect with Fly Guy in the picture book arena will find him again in beginning readers.

Dates to Remember

Fly Guy Presents Bats (Fly Guy Presents #6) will be arriving on June 30, 2015!

Prince Fly Guy (Fly Guy #15) will be arriving on August 30, 2015!