So you’re looking for a couple of books from a brilliant author/illustrator? Ones that will make kids say “ewwww” page after page, all while laughing uproariously? Ones that kids will want to read again and again and again because each little twist is ingenious?
Tedd Arnold’s will do the trick:
For the most part, his rhyme is spot on,
“I just don’t know what’s going on
or why it has to be.
But every day it’s something worse.
What’s happening to me?”
but purists will note that the rhyme on the second spread is—inverted! **!!Gasp!!**
“I think it was three days ago
I first became aware—
That in my comb were caught a couple
pieces of my hair.”
Now, one could argue that this book was published in 1997 and the rhyme police have gotten much more strict in recent years. But I will tell you that if you’re an author-illustrator and you come up with something as original as:
“Then later on (I don’t recall
exactly when it was)
I lifted up my shirt and found
this little piece of fuzz.”
“I stared at it, amazed, and wondered,
What’s this all about?
But then I understood. It was
my stuffing coming out!”
Editors may give you a “Get Out of Rhyme Jail Free” pass. Page after page of inspired body part distress.
Not content with one body part book, Arnold published a second called “More Parts” (not reviewed here), and a third called “Even More Parts” in 2004. Originally published under the “Dial Books for Young Readers Imprint,” they are now published by Puffin.
“Even More Parts” takes a literal look at body part idioms and their horrifying consequences.
Tongue-tied, anyone?
Although each page includes small comics of several idioms for each body part, Arnold selects the funniest to fill the spreads. The end papers include mini illustrations of many more. Bonus: All of these books should engage even the most reluctant readers AND PARENTS.
“Even More Parts” could also be used to support Common Core Curriculum in kindergarten through second grade.
Check them out!
Titles: “Parts” & “And Even More Parts”
Author/Illustrator: Tedd Arnold
Publisher: Puffin
Ages: preschool-second grade
This post is in conjunction with Susanna Leonard Hill’s Perfect Picture Book Friday.
