Super Fly Guy

Reason for Reading: Ds read to me as his reader. Over Christmas I will have him reading some short and easy books as his mind is on other things at this time. Plus going back to some easy stuff will boost his confidence.

Our whole family loves Fly Guy! Ds has had some of the books read to him when he was younger, has read a few himself when he was struggling with this stage of reading and now read this one again with almost no problems. He was more interested in the pictures than the words which made it hard to focus on the reading. Fly Guy is hilarious and I recommend these early readers. Buzz has a pet fly who can speak a limited vocabulary. In this story Fly Guy goes to school with Buzz and makes friends with the lunch lady Roz, but Roz gets fired when the Boss finds flies in the kitchen. The new lunch lady, Mizz Muzz(le) is a terrible cook and Fly Guy inadvertently manages to get her fired too which brings the beloved Roz back who was a superb cook. Lots of fun, humorous and even a little gross at times. A wonderful easy reader, especially for boys. ( )

A great beginning reader as the humor engages the reader to keep moving along. The illustrations are delightfully gross, perfect for the young reader as another level of engagement. ( )

A fly tells his tell of hanging out in the school cafeteria.

Another humorous tale of Buzz and Fly Guy. This time they went to school together, Fly Guy had a blast and got a little spoiled along the way and was helpful to the lunch lady, Miss Roz, and had a new experience to boot. I would use this book to teach illustration, writing skills, expressive language. A reluctant reader would like the holographic cover, familiar characters and easy to read text. A very fun book for grades 2+ ( )

Annotation:
Buzz is a boy on the way to school who meets a fly, Fly Guy. This fly can also talk although every word he speaks rhymes with “Buzz”. Fly Guy goes to school with Buzz and learns along with Buzz about reading, phonics and art. Fly Guy’s favorite activity was lunch time. He loves it all and especially the cook. Roz, the cook, befriends him, but is soon found out by the principal. After the Roz is fired, a new cook appears who turns out to be much worse than Roz. Eventually Roz returns and everyone, including Fly Guy is happy.

My Review:
Super Fly Guy is a great beginning reading book. However, I think it is appropriate for an early reader who has already had some experience in reading. I love this book because it shows kids that reading is fun. I have not read many “early readers” that have clever stories. This one fills that bill. I encourage reading and this story makes it easy. Every kindergartener and first grader can identify with school lunches. This book illustrates that learning to read is fun because of the hilarious stories you can read.
The since an illustrator is not named, I must assume that the author, Tedd Arnold, illustrated his book as well. The illustration are funny and interestingly drawn with exaggerated features (eyes and square bodies) .

Other Reviews:

Booklist Review by Julie Cummins -K-Gr. 3.
This reviewer obviously likes the books. She describes the story and ends with “Together with the zippy metallic cover and simple text, divided into three short chapters, this book is a delight.” This review would be helpful to me because of the excellent description of the story.

Kirkus Reviews
Kirkus, as well, had a good description of the story. I agree with the comment “Fledgling readers will cheer the intrepid insect on as he engineers Roz's return, and is last seen basking in a redolent bowl of garbage soup.” I agree that stories such as “Super Fly Guy” encourage children to read and enjoy the fun that awaits them. ( )