Easy Reading: Fly High, Fly Guy! + Hooray for Fly Guy!

Pairs of friends are at the heart of many easy readers. Surely that's due to the influence of Frog and Toad. Whether the books are about two animals (Elephant and Piggie, Cork and Fuzz, Minnie and Moo) or a person & a pet (Mr. Putter and Tabby, Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa, Henry and Mudge), they're quite popular with their target audience of 5 to 7 year olds.

Like all of the series mentioned above,Tedd Arnold's Fly Guy books have a good sense of humor, and Arnold adds a nicely weird touch: the pet is a house fly. A big-eyed, eager-to-help house fly. One young reader I know laughed in surprise. Fly Guy is a tiny hero, teaming up with the equally big-eyed boy/pet owner, Buzz, for mildly mischievous adventures.

In Fly High, Fly Guy! the author-illustrator relates the story of Buzz's family's vacation with simple sentences ("Fly Guy wanted to go, too. 'He's too little,' said Mom. 'He might get lost.'") and plenty of visual jokes (like Fly Guy sneaking into the trunk of the car). Fly Guy gets drafted onto Buzz's football team in Hooray for Fly Guy! The conspiring that he and Buzz do for their special play expresses the delight of sharing a secret with someone.

Find your favorite pal who's learning to read, and appreciate these loopy books together. Both Fly High, Fly Guy! and Hooray for Fly Guy! are nominees for a 2008 Cybils award in the Easy Reader category.

Comments

[Charlotte]

I will look for these next year, when I have a first grader again!

[Susan_Thomsen]

What fun to have another budding reader! These books are a hoot. Lots of boyish humor.