I’m starting a new monthly (or bi-monthly, I haven’t decided which) feature today called Little Miss’s Reading Corner where I will discuss books she and I have either read together or are reading now.

Up today are the Fly Guy books by Tedd Arnold.

Tedd Arnold is someone we found out about when The Boy (my internet nickname for my teenager) was a kid because Tedd was born about 30 minutes away from where we lived at the time and was the guest author at a couple of local library events.

He also held a book signing at a local comic shop my husband used to go to.

Tedd was born in Elmira, N.Y. but from a search on the interwebs, I learned he now lives in Florida, or Land of the Free, as my family calls it. Tedd is the writer and illustrator for his books and is an award winning children’s author. According to his Wikapedia page, “Tedd’s first book, No Jumping on the Bed! was an IRA-CBC Children’s Choice book and was also selected as a Parents Magazine 50 All-Time Best Children’s Book. He is a three-time winner of the ALA’s Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor for Hi! Fly Guy and for I Spy Fly Guy, and Noodleheads See the Future.”

He has written and illustrated 19 Fly Guy books. The books are simple chapter reads for younger ages and follow the friendship of Fly Guy, a talking fly, and a boy named Buzz.

We do not own all of the Fly Guy books. I think we own maybe 10 of them, so we have some catching up to do. We also own two other of Tedd’s book, Parts, and More Parts.

Parts is a hilariously gross book that The Boy liked more than Little Miss does. It’s about how our fingernails peel or dead skin falls off, boogers fly out, etc. and adults joke that parts of our bodies are coming off and how a young boy interprets these references as scenes of horror. It really makes a parent think about how literal kids can be and how we have to be careful how we word things while also helping the child realize that when a parent asks if a child lost part of their brain when they sneezed, they are joking and not being literal.

More Parts, obviously, is about more gross stuff our bodies do.

Anyhow, back to Fly Guy.

Fly Guy calls Buzz, Buzzzzzzz and says a lot of things with that zzzz sound at the end like a fly would say in real life. What? You’ve never heard flies talk to you? Oh. Never mind then.

The books are full of fun adventures, silliness, and in Tedd fashion, a little bit of gross. They are geared toward boys or girls but some boys might prefer the ick factor a little more than the girls do. These books are not overtly icky but sometimes some icky stuff with garbage or dirt happens because we are talking about the life of a fly here.

The books are written with simple words and would be considered early readers.

Because Little Miss enjoys the books so much (they are the first ones she read out loud to me two years ago when she really started picking up reading… you know back when I thought I was failing her as a  homeschooling parent and then she started reading texts over my shoulder and I realized she’d picked up a lot more than I thought) I bought her a stuffed Fly Guy for Christmas last year. I thought she’d be excited. Instead, she screamed and said, “ew! A stuffed fly! Why would you think I’d want that?”

So poor Fly Guy was relegated to the bottom of one of her toy boxes.

Tedd has written over 100 children’s books so if Fly Guy isn’t your cup of tea, I’m sure you’ll find something else he’s written that you or your child will enjoy.

The Boy and I read No More Jumping on the Bed years ago and loved that one too. I need to get that and No More Water in the Tub for Little Miss next.

To read more about Tedd and his books, check out the Scholastic site HERE.

Or watch this video I found with him:

Have you heard of or read any of Tedd’s books? What are some favorite children’s books authors of your kids or grandkids?