Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Fly Guy #16

Zig Zag: N° 13 - Prince Zig Zag

Rate this book
Once upon a time, Buzz writes a fairy tale for a class assignment and Fly Guy becomes a handsome prince!

In the latest installment of Tedd Arnold's NEW YORK TIMES bestselling Fly Guy series, Buzz has a homework assignment to write a fairy tale and he asks Fly Guy to help. Fly Guy doesn't like to think of himself as some of Buzz's suggestions--an ugly troll, a smelly pig herder--so he becomes a handsome prince instead! Prince Fly Guy flies to a dark castle, fends off a giant, and rescues a beautiful princess.

Even reluctant readers will enjoy this fun, zany story about Fly Guy's adventure in a fairy tale!

32 pages, Paperback

First published August 25, 2015

42 people are currently reading
332 people want to read

About the author

Tedd Arnold

200 books296 followers
Tedd grew up with three brothers. His family lived on a farm in Pennsylvania for several years then returned to Elmira until Tedd was ten years old. His father's work then required that they move to Gainesville, Florida. There, Tedd's first art lessons in an abandoned dentist's office over the Happy Hour pool hall eventually led to a fine arts degree from the University of Florida.

He and his wife, Carol, started their family in Tallahassee where Tedd worked as a commercial illustrator. Carol, a kindergarten teacher, drew Tedd's attention to children's books. Their first son, Walter, inspired his breakthrough picture book, NO JUMPING ON THE BED!.

He and his family now live in Elmira. His second son, William, now stars in NO MORE WATER IN THE TUB!, a sequel to his first book. He has now published over 50 books as author and illustrator.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
319 (38%)
4 stars
228 (27%)
3 stars
204 (24%)
2 stars
57 (6%)
1 star
12 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
Profile Image for Matt.
4,866 reviews13.1k followers
September 10, 2018
Fly Guy is back and Neo is ready for the adventure to come. When Buzz explains that his homework entails writing a fairy tale, Fly Guy is keen to help. Together they try to concoct the perfect story, though it cannot include anything too spooky or ugly, as Fly Guy cannot stand that sort of thing. Settling on a Prince Fly, the story progresses with a lovely princess and an evil giant. Together, the prince and princess fend off the giant and are able to save themselves, leaving them time to enjoy one another’s company. Neo liked the fairy tale, but is also sure he can come up with one on his own. I challenged him to do so and we shall see what he has dreamt up by breakfast.
Profile Image for Megan Garrison.
75 reviews1 follower
May 10, 2018
Copyright- 2015
Number of Pages-30
Book format-hardcover
Reading Level-Pre-K-K, 1-2 GR Level- I
Genre- Fiction
Lit. Requirement-Easy-to-read books

This the 16th book to a series following a boy named Buzz and his pet fly named Fly Guy. In this book, Buzz wants to write a story and asks Fly Guy for help. Fly Guy can only say "Yeszz" or give a face for a response. Buzz suggests characters until Fly Guy agrees on a Prince. Then he adds a Princess to the story and a mean giant. The mean giant is mean to the Princess and Prince but they defeat him and live happily ever after in their castle. I like how this book is only 30 pages but set up with chapters. I think it could be a transitional book but also an easy reader for the simple text and story line. I really enjoyed reading this book and I think many children will as well.

Profile Image for Shelley.
474 reviews20 followers
March 28, 2019
What a fun story!

Buzz and his pet Fly, “Fly Guy” decide to write a fairytale together. Buzz brainstorms ideas for what the story should be about...a troll, a pig herder or a prince! For every idea that Buzz has, Fly Guy imagines himself as the characters going through the the different scenarios.

I love that this story shows the creative process of writing and how much fun it can be to write a story with a friend! A great read loud for the library or classroom. Kids will get a kick out of the quirky illustrations and Fly Guy’s reactions!
Profile Image for Kasper.
361 reviews21 followers
February 10, 2016
A coworker told me Fly Guy was funnier than Elephant and Piggie and while I wholeheartedly disagree, this was really cute and made me laugh out loud a couple of times.
Profile Image for Laura.
Author 2 books51 followers
September 28, 2018
Cute, fun read. Great series for beginning readerzzz. :)
Profile Image for Omar Z.
43 reviews2 followers
June 21, 2025
After several years of being gone from home, stranded within the pages of works by authors I've no reason to read other than to believe I'm reading from the heights of literature, I find myself embarrassed to state that only now have I located the light at the end of this tunnel, and it goes by the name of Fly Guy.

Prince Fly Guy is a metafictional conundrum with a plot consisting of a young boy named Buzz and his pet fly (the titular Fly Guy); the two embark on a Quixotic adventure with the reader, one that continuously draws the reader's attention to the prospect of reading this exact work of fiction, all whilst the only 2 characters in the book put together a book of their own which the reader reads along with them, ultimately transforming the reader, not into the usual literary voyeur present in most titles, but into a character as well--you realize how complicit you are in the text the further you read, and by the time you take notice, it may be too late.

A mind-numbing, Borgesean treat for those interested in works of philosophic depth interweaved with fantasy from the likes of Gene Wolfe, Ursula K. Le Guin, Samuel R. Delany, J.R.R. Tolkien, G.R.R. Martin, and any other worthy authors whose names my mind may be unable to grasp at this moment, for this book has put me in a rut concerning my own use of language as a whole--long story short, I feel that anything I write couldn't hold a half-lit match to the colloseum that Prince Fly Guy is, not that anything I write is written with the intention of doing such ridiculous feat, but that I can't help but keep erasing my words with the pages still fresh in my consciousness--I can't shield my psyche from the repetition of certain sentences like mantras, but I rather keep them to myself than to quote directly/include excerpts from the text, as I may implement within the review-reader a literary ear-worm that'll be near-impossible to detach oneself from, let alone pray away if the tango proves too difficult to resume daily life alongside with--at the time of my writing of this review, I'm still shaking.

An unspoken of masterwork of contemporary fiction one is able to read in a sitting, but one which will prompt the reader to read, or reread, with a glacial pacing so as to absorb every shade of text Tedd Arnold has awaiting them, like a monochromatic rainbow with imperceptible tones you won't notice till you allow yourself to be drenched with the impossible; a modern-day classic neck and neck with Eric Carle's 1969 explosion 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' as reviewed by Chris Via of leaf by leaf.

[90/100]

It doesn't get much better to this, and I do believe it is doing the work an injustice to not provide a solid 100/100 rating, but I'll think it over and provide this review with an updated rating once the shivering subsides.
65 reviews1 follower
May 7, 2018
Copyright: 2015
Number of pages: 32
Book format: print
Reading level: pre-k-2; GR level I
Genre: fiction
Lit requirement: easy-to-read book

Prince Fly Guy is the story of Buzz and his pet fly, Fly Guy. One day, Buzz begins to write his fairy tale for homework and asks for Fly Guy's help. As he starts the story, Fly Guy shoots down idea after idea that Buzz puts out there until he comes up with an epic story in his eyes. To find out what Prince Fly Guy does, you'll have to read the book.

I gave this book two stars because I did not real me in. Although the illustrations were funny do to the exaggeration in the facial characteristics of the characters, the text was nothing that special. It did not really give a message or lesson either. I believe this is an easy read for kids who are transitioning into chapter books, and there are many more Fly Guy books to choose from as well.
31 reviews
March 23, 2022
Prince Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold is an easy-to-read book that viewers are sure to find amusing. Buzz and his pet, Fly Guy, work on a homework assignment together. They’re tasked with creating a fairy tale. Fly Guy helps Buzz create the perfect story (for himself), making sure that he becomes a handsome prince instead of an ugly troll. The words are simple but manage to tell a delightfully fun story. The illustrations add a lot to the text, helping show everything in vivid detail. Overall this is a great easy-to-read book that I think will appeal to many young children. It’s fun and exciting and the words flow well together.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for James DeSantis.
Author 17 books1,204 followers
September 3, 2024
This was probably my favorite one from this series so far. My daughter got a good laugh out of this one too. Basically Fly Guy, a pet fly, is listening to a story from Buzz, his owner/friend, about a magical Fly Guy in a fantasy setting. So basically a story within a story, really cute, and really funny. Especially Fly Guy's reactions to some of the story beats.
Profile Image for Anthony.
7,276 reviews31 followers
January 7, 2019
Buzz has to write a fairy tale for his homework. With the help of Fly Guy, the twisted tale has a handsome prince, a dark castle, a beautiful princess, and a giant. Will the handsome prince save the beautiful princess from the giant? What would Fly Guy do?
Profile Image for Ariel.
331 reviews9 followers
January 19, 2017
Fly Guy Rocks

Always silly and entertaining. The kids love it and bonus so do I. This is just one of a long series. Great for emergent readers!
Profile Image for AMY.
2,823 reviews
July 12, 2017
Kind of a silly story about a boy trying to write a fairytale. It was just OK, but if you are a fan of Fly Guy you will probably like it. Recommended for Gr. K-2.
10.8k reviews29 followers
August 28, 2017
A cute story about Buzz and fly guy making up a fairytale for Buzz's homework assignment. Fly guy starts as the prince. Simple and easy to follow. Toddler and up
Profile Image for Kaelin Wilson.
29 reviews
April 3, 2019
Well, I don't know, i'm not very sure about this one. I liked the book and the story-line but probably because i hate those kind of bugs (i don't even like saying their name) it was just Ok.
407 reviews4 followers
October 27, 2019
10 min, 6 yo
An easy read for my beginning reader.
66 reviews
December 19, 2019
There was a Prince Fly and the Fly Guy think he was in the story. And he got mad some. Done! GOODBYE! Goodnight! The end.
40 reviews
February 7, 2020
Buzz and Fly guy have great imaginations and write good stories about a princess fly that saves the day! Good for young beginning readers.
56 reviews
Read
March 4, 2020
Buzz has a homework assignment to write a fairy tale and he asks Fly Guy to help.
Profile Image for The Book Box.
1,479 reviews5 followers
Read
September 1, 2020
I picked this as my top choice tonight! (But we ended up reading two more anyway.) I love Fly Guy!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.