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Welcome to our first Kids Pick
There's no science to it - kids just tell us what they like!
What Body Part is That? By Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton Forget foraging through medical textbooks, don’t bother with the doctor, ignore all medical advice. Instead, let Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton guide you through the workings of the human body with their zaniest, stupidest book ever!
There is a lot of nonsense written about the human body, and this book is no exception.
In its 68 fully illustrated, 100 per cent fact-free chapters, What Body Part is That? will explain everything you ever needed to know about your body without all the boring technical jargon and scientific accuracy that normally clogs up the pages of books of this type.
Check out the cool 3D trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45vFpXb-r5Y.
Kids Book Review of What Body Part is That?
by Daniel, Age 10.
What Body Part is That? by Andy Griffiths and Terry Dention is about body parts but it tells you in the strangest and funniest ways.
I liked how the pictures and writing had funny jokes about body parts like farts, lungs and bum.
The age suitable for this book would probably be 7 to 16 year olds.
I kept interested right to the very end because it had funny jokes everywhere. I would read more of Andy Griffiths books because I bet they will be funny too.Andy Griffiths is Australia’s most popular children’s writer. He is the author of over twenty books, including nonsense verse, badly drawn cartoons, short stories, comic novels and creative writing textbooks.
Over the past 15 years, Andy’s books have been New York Times bestsellers, won over 40 children’s choice awards, been adapted as a television cartoon series and sold over four million copies worldwide.
Andy is best known as the author of the much-loved Just! Series and The Day My Bum Went Psycho. In 2008 Andy became the first Australian author to win 6 children’s choice awards in one year for Just Shocking!, smashing his previous record of 4 awards for The Bad Book in 2005.Tell us about your journey to publication. Where were you when you first got a book accepted? Did you have many attempts at publication before being successful?
I started by self publishing a book of 50 fragments (memories, dreams, instructions etc) called Freaking Out. It was pretty grungy for a 20-something audience, and so I then rewrote it so it would be suitable to use with Year 7 students (I was a teacher in a past life) as a range of different types of writing models for their own writing. I gave the re-written book to an agent, who proceeded to get rejections from all major Australian publishers at the time but finally placed it with educational publisher who agreed to publish it if I included writing exercises and turned it into creative writing textbook. I figured it was a foot in the door and as it turned out it was very fortunate because they hired Terry Denton, freelance illustrator at the time, to illustrate it. Because of this book, I started getting offered work as a visiting author at schools and during this period, I met Terry and he offered to illustrate any further books I wrote. It was having him on board that I managed to convince Read for Kids to publish Just Tricking! In 1997, which I regard as my first “proper” book. I remember going out to the bookshop on the morning of April 1 in 1997 and being quite amazed to see my book sitting amongst other “proper” books!
Do you have a favourite book or story that you’ve written?
Busting from Just Stupid! It’s based on a simple everyday problem, escalates to the point of utter insanity and then has a surprise double ending. Can’t ask for more!
Are there any particular illustrator’s you prefer to work with?
Terry Denton
What does your average day (or week) involve?
Exercise and breakfast, before easing into work around 9.30am. Generally will work on whatever project is on the front burner till 2 or 3 in the afternoon, and then answer emails and do other errands for the rest of day. Evenings are usually spent watching, enjoying and analysing comedy programmes and/or reading. Everything is grist for the mill!
Are you a member of a critique group or any writing organisations?
I am a member of ASA. I’m not currently a member of a writing critique group but I spent many years doing writing courses in which I had my worked severely critiqued by many groups. Nowadays, I mainly test my writing out by reading out to groups of 500 kids at a time. If a piece of writing can stand that you know it’s pretty solid.
Favourite place to write
I have an office but I find I do most of my work at the lounge room table, pretending that I’m not actually working.
Favourite place to read
Anywhere.
What’s the most important tip you would give to new writers?
Get a writing practice book and writes as much as you can, as often as possible. And invest in a copy of Writing Down The Bones by Natalie Goldberg and Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott.
What’s been the biggest achievement in your writing career?
Getting my first book published was pretty huge but the roar of the crowd at the end of the opening night of Bell Shakespeare’s Just Macbeth [in 2008 Andy collaborated with the Bell Shakespeare Company on the popular and critically acclaimed theatrical production Just Macbeth!] was the icing on the cake.
What’s next?
In September Andy will have a new book out called The 13 Storey Tree House. In 2012 he will be publishing Just Writing!
What was your career before becoming published author?
A teacher.
Are you a planner/plotter or a ‘fly by the seat of your pants’ type writer?All three. They’re all useful strategies at different times of the creative process
If you had a premonition you’d be stranded on a deserted island what five books would you throw into your bag?
Catcher in the Rye, Mark Twain’s Huck Finn, Metamorphosis by Kafka, the complete works of Shakespeare, and Crime & Punishment.
Do you get a lot of ‘fan mail’ from children that includes the word ‘bum’ in it?
Yes, but, not just the word “bum”. Different kids respond to different books and I’ve written many books that don’t have any bums in them whatsoever. They all, however, feature some kind of mischief or anarchy and I think this is what kids really respond to, regardless of content.
Other stuff...
Andy is passionate about inspiring a love of books and reading in his young readers, and this passion drives his work as an ambassador with The Indigenous Literacy Project, an initiative of the Australian Publishing Industry to provide books and literacy resources to remote indigenous communities around Australia. Andy regularly participates in field trips to remote areas of New South Wales, the Northern Territory and Western Australia to run writing workshops with indigenous children and to help facilitate the Project’s work.
For more details visit www.indigenousliteracyproject.org.au.
Andy is also an ambassador for the Victorian Premier’s Reading Challenge (www.education.vic.gov.au/prc) and the Pyjama Foundation, which provides literacy-based mentoring programs to children in foster care (www.thepyjamafoundation.com).You can follow Andy Griffiths on twitter, befriend him on Facebook and check out his website (www.andygriffiths.com.au) for regular updates/tour information.
What Body Part is published by Pan MacMillan Australia (www.panmacmillan.com.au).
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