fresita's Full Review: Tedd Arnold - Even More Parts: Idioms from Head to...
He's at it again! Tedd Arnold's famous hypochondriac (appropriately named Chip) has come up with more reasons to worry in Even More Parts, the third book in Arnold's "Parts" series.
Synopsis:
Chip has written a list of all the scary things he's heard that have made him afraid to go outside. Deciding there are just too many things to keep in mind, he makes himself a suit of armor to wear to school.
Illustrations:
Tedd Arnold's illustrations in Even More Parts are as zany as ever, with his neck-less people that look more like thumbs with scrawny arms and legs. People and animals alike sport huge white bug eyes with tiny black pupils.
The pictures are covered with tiny background threads reminiscent of one of the security features used on paper money. There are plenty of funny and somewhat gross details to be seen on every page, mostly consisting of scattered body parts. It isn't overdone, however, as there is no blood or gore. Rather, the parts have tiny pegs where they were supposed to be connected to Chip's body.
My Thoughts:
There were two things about the first two "Parts" books that I really liked, but are sadly missing in Even More Parts. The first is the flow of the story. This book begins in ballad meter, but once it arrives at Chip's list, the flow is broken. At the top of each page is one of the idioms Chip has written on his list. The main illustration depicts how Chip imagines this idiom could happen. For instance, one page lists "I keep changing my mind." The main illustration shows Chip sitting among several boxes of different brands of minds. The top of his head is missing, and he holds extra brains in each hand.
What breaks up the flow of the story is that at the bottom of the page there are several tiny illustrations demonstrating similar idioms. On the page I mentioned above, the three extra idioms pictured are "I keep an open mind," "My mind is wandering" and "I lost my marbles." Each saying features on of the three minor characters: Chip's toy super hero, his toy dinosaur and his toy tank.
Since the various idioms read as a list, this book doesn't work very well for a read-aloud story. The list continues for most of the book, only ending in time for the last three pages. My kids didn't understand quite a few of the idioms, so this meant I had to stop and explain them. That makes the book drag pretty badly. Perhaps it would work better for an older child.
The second thing I liked about the first two books in the "Parts" series was that Chip was shown at the end of the books discussing his fears with his parents, who were able to explain things to him. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen in this book. Instead, the parents, seeing him prepare his suit of armor, warn him that he'll be late for school. When they drop off the armor-clad boy at his school, they cheerfully warn him to keep his head on straight.
One of the main reasons I liked the first two books so much was that they taught kids to talk to their parents about things that worry them. Here the parents appear too busy to ask him why he's worried again.
Of the three "Parts" books, this one was my kids' least favorite. That doesn't mean that they didn't like it, though. It's just that Tedd Arnold set the bar pretty high for himself in the first two books. This one left me with the feeling that he'd decided to make it his last book of the series, so he wanted to use all the left-over idioms he'd been saving. Even the inside of the front and back covers are filled with "scary" saying and their accompanying illustrations.
I still recommend this book because it's funny, although it doesn't compare with the first two. Maybe I'll try it again when my kids are a couple of years older.
Written and Illustrated by Tedd Arnold
Published by Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group. 2004
Arnold's funniest book yet reintroduces the nervous hero from "Parts" and "More Parts" while also depicting more than 100 body-part idioms. Kids won't...More at HotBookSale
Arnold s funniest book yet reintroduces the nervous hero from Parts and More Parts while also depicting more than 100 body-part idioms. Kids won t be ...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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