Tedd Arnold

Vincent's efforts to paint his house are complicated by all the little creatures who share it with him - the spider, the caterpillar, the beetle, the bird, the butterfly, the snake, the mouse, and the bat - and their demands that he choose the various colors that they prefer. In the end, he incorporates all of their suggestions, painting a house that is truly his...

A sweet little picture-book tribute to the artist Vincent Van Gogh, and his bold use of swirling color - the final scene shows a show more sky that looks very much like the one in the painting The Starry Night - Vincent Paints His House pairs colorful, cartoon-like illustrations with a fun, repetitive text. I particularly liked that Vincent's reaction to each color suggested is positive, and that a variety of shades within each color are represented in palette he uses. Recommended to young artists and art-lovers. show less

(Children's illustrated book)

The sequel of sorts to Parts and More Parts, this was a book I read to my 4 year old's class, and had them all interacting. Perfectly aimed at that age group, with the right level of humour (and you know what that means - *sigh*), it illustrates some of the idioms we use.

Actually, it illustrates the silly things we say about our body parts - and there are loads of them; for example, "I changed my mind" has the protagonist taking out one brain to put in another. show more Or when the teacher says "All eyes on me" the whole class throws their eyeballs at her. The kids loved the book, and it got quite a few laughs. I liked the way (well, yes, I found it funny, too) each page was dedicated to one body part, and the bar at the bottom of each page with still more idioms on that body part, illustrated by the boy again, his toy robot and his toy tank.

Funny, clever and not too gross; right up my street!

5 stars show less

Siblings Mac and Mac are back for more adventures. After their Uncle Ziti tells that a tall tale that they wholeheartedly believe, Mac and Mac are determined to do an impossible task so that folks will tell stories about them in the future. But what kind of impossible task is actually achievable?

While I recommend reading the whole Noodleheads series because they are delightful, this latest addition stands up on its own without needing to know any back story. As always, the relevant show more information is right on the first page: knowing that Mac and Mac are simply not intelligent. Their constant misunderstandings and lack of common sense make for amusing stories while also allowing readers to learn from the mistakes made by Mac and Mac without having to make those errors themselves. This book is perfect for fans of the literal-minded Amelia Bedelia, another character who always manages to find an “all’s well that ends well” conclusion to her story.

As typical with this series, the backmatter contains information about fools' tales throughout history and how these short stories were based on some of those. show less

Sitting outside is as easy as pie, so brothers Mac and Mac are treated to a peach pie made by their mother, as long as they bring her the required ingredients first. But Mac and Mac will admit to having nothing inside their empty noodles so they are easily confused and tricked ... will they ever get their pie?

As with other books in the Noodleheads series, this story is presented over a few short chapters in a comic book style, sure to be popular with young readers. Each chapter is inspired show more by a traditional story of fools from around the world, with backmatter explaining more about this storytelling tradition as well as describing the specific tales that inspired the vignettes found here. Despite the apparent silliness with these humorous tales, readers will actually learn a lot. This includes a variety of idioms like “easy street” and "easy as pie" as mentioned above. Also, readers are encouraged by the storytelling to think logically – the exact opposite of noodleheads Mac and Mac. I always enjoy the pun-filled antics of Mac and Mac in the Noodleheads books and this one did not disappoint! show less