Parts (book) facts for kids
Parts is a fun children's book written and illustrated by Tedd Arnold. It was first published on September 1, 1997. The book uses rhyme and cartoon-like watercolor pictures. Parts is the first book in Arnold's series about body parts. Two more books followed: More Parts in 2001 and Even More Parts in 2004. In 1998, Parts won an award called "Tellable" Stories for Ages 4–7, and in 1999, it won the Colorado Children's Book Award.
Contents
What Parts Is About
The story of Parts was inspired by something that happened to the author's own son, Walter. Walter was worried when he lost his first tooth. The main character in Parts is a young boy named Chip Block. He starts to notice strange things happening to his body. He sees hairs on his comb, finds lint in his belly button, and sees his skin peeling. One day, a piece of mucus falls out of his nose, and he even thinks it's a piece of his brain!
Chip gets really worried when one of his teeth starts to feel loose. He becomes convinced that his body is falling apart. He imagines he will soon be toothless, skinless, brainless, and bald. To try and hold himself together, Chip wraps himself up in his dad's masking tape. He ends up looking like a mummy! When his parents find him, they explain that it's normal for parts of his body to renew themselves. This means his body is always growing and changing, not falling apart.
The Other Books in the Series
More Parts
This book is the next story after Parts, published in 2001. Just like the first book, it's written in rhyme and has fun pictures by Tedd Arnold. In this story, Chip gets scared by common sayings that use body parts. These are called idioms. For example, if someone says "give a hand," they don't mean literally give their hand away!
Chip thinks these sayings mean his body parts might actually come off. So, he tries to protect himself in funny ways. When his dad asks him "to give a hand," Chip glues gloves to his hands so they won't fall off. Other idioms in the book include:
- "It’s sure to crack you up."
- "Stretch your legs."
- "Hold your tongue."
- "Scream your lungs out."
Even More Parts
This is the last book in Tedd Arnold's series, published in 2004. It's also illustrated by him. This book is a bit different from the first two because it doesn't tell a rhyming story. Instead, Even More Parts helps children learn about idioms or figures of speech. It focuses on idioms that use body parts.
Chip, the main character from the first two books, is back. He has made a list of all the confusing things adults say. To protect himself at school, he even makes a suit of armor. The rest of the book shows a list of these puzzling sayings with funny pictures. For example, one page shows students' eyeballs flying out of their heads and hitting the teacher when she says, "I want all eyes on me." The pictures often include Chip's toy superhero, dinosaur, and tank from the earlier books.
About the Books
- Tedd Arnold, Parts, New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1997.
- Tedd Arnold, More Parts, New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2001.
- Tedd Arnold, Even More Parts: Idioms from Head to Toe, New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2004.
These books have also been published by other companies like Puffin and Scholastic Inc..
Movie News
Good news for fans of the Parts books! Both Animal Logic and Netflix have bought the rights to make a movie based on the trilogy. They plan to combine all three books into one animated film.
