SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: How to Become a Knight (in Ten Easy Lessons)
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://tarpreport.blogspot.com
CITY: New York
STATE: NY
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: SATA 262
RESEARCHER NOTES: I am not sure how to handle this but I think he is remarrying someone else named Jo. From his blog: “In the midst of our last-minute frenzy of wedding planning, my co-workers threw me and Jo a surprise engagement cocktail party on the rooftop of a co-worker’s apartment building on Friday evening” dated September 2018.–DP On October 14, 2018, he had a post that he had gotten married, so I have gone ahead and added the new wife.–AC
PERSONAL
Born Durango, CO; married; wife’s name Jennifer (marriage ended); married; wife’s name Jo; children (from first marriage): Samuel, Ethan.
EDUCATION:New York University, B.F.A., 1984; University of Iowa, M.A., 1990; Yale University, M.B.A., 1993.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Digital strategist and author. A & E Television, New York, NY, director, then vice president of AETN Interactive, beginning 2000, vice president of Bravo Networks, 2002; Tarpley Media, New York, founder and former president; Rainbow Entertainment, New York, vice president of digital, 2002-05; Doubledown Media, New York, president and general manager of interactive division, 2006-08; Nielsen Company, New York, vice president of online division, 2009-10; Meredith Corp., New York, general manager of Parents’ Digital, beginning 2012.
WRITINGS
Author of the blogs Tarp Report and Wrestling for Gable.
SIDELIGHTS
Although Todd Tarpley has had a long career as a television and digital-media executive, the birth of his sons reacquainted him with the world of children’s books. Wanting to create something similar to the bedtime stories he enjoyed with his own children, Tarpley produced his first picture book, How about a Kiss for Me?, in 2010. A father queries his young son as to whether he would kiss a series of increasingly unlikely creatures, and then receives his own goodnight kiss from the enthusiastic young smoocher. “Tarpley’s rolling verse reads aloud easily,” a Kirkus Reviews critic observed, predicting that How about a Kiss for Me? is “sure to elicit kisses with every reading.” In School Library Journal Susan E. Murray found some rhymes “a little forced,” but added that they “will be covered up by the laughs from children envisioning themselves kissing these animals.” As a Publishers Weekly writer concluded, “debut author Tarpley’s sweetly silly story is, like kissing, suitable for any time of day.”
Tarpley’s picture book Ten Tiny Toes is a poetic tribute to new babies and how their feet help them grow and explore. Here his “simple, bright rhymes gently accelerate in momentum along with the progress of their subject matter,” a Publishers Weekly critic commented, while a Kirkus Reviews writer observed that “the verses move as quickly as the babies, bouncing along in … a somewhat singsong meter that is pleasing to young ears.” In School Library Journal Gay Lynn Van Vleck praised illustrator Marc Brown’s artwork and noted that “Tarpley’s rhymes add to the bliss with yummy lines.” “Baby toes are irresistible, and Tarpley and Brown honor them with finesse,” the critic added.
In Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep! Tarpley and illustrator John Rocco team up to tell the story of a boy who has three robots who cannot seem to get to sleep. Following the normal routines of a human boy, the robots are taken into the bathroom to have their rotors brushed and shields cleaned. When the boy puts the robots to bed, he is sure they are sleeping only to find, as the next page reveals, that the robots are still wide awake. They seem to be keeping the young boy awake as well. The robots all complain about their problems, from needing attention to their aching sensor to wanting more oil, all while making beeping and a variety of other sounds. When they ask for a bedtime story, it turns out that it is actually the robots trying to get the boy to go to sleep. Reading the story puts the boy to sleep, and the robots are finally silent as well. “The rambunctious robots will win readers’ hearts,” noted a Publishers Weekly contributor, who went on to note that “the human hero is equally appealing.” Marianne Saccardi, writing for School Library Journal, called Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep! “a delightful tale of bedtime role-reversal that sharp youngsters will appreciate.”
Three Grumpy Trucks, illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees, once again finds that a child’s toys are much more than they seem as a young boy tries to stop his toys from misbehaving. At a playground with his three toy trucks, the boy finds that he cannot get his toys to leave because they are having so much fun whirling around and behaving like grown up trucks. After the toys throw a fit, the boy removes his helmet to reveal a pony tail and that he is a she. The toys finally go home with the girl and dream of future adventures. “Tarpley keeps the short and rhyming text perky with blessedly perfect scansion,” wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor. A Publishers Weekly contributor remarked: “The rhyming text has the authentic ring of both a real-life tantrum and pretend construction.”
How to Become a Knight (in Ten Easy Lessons) finds Sam asking Sir Simpleton how to become knight. Sir Simpleton brags about his many accomplishments and acknowledges that he is also a knight trainer. He directs Sam to get a suit of armor and it must be shiny. However, Sir Simpleton puts a a feathery suit. When he tells Sam that he must have a big horse that is fast, Sir Simpleton seems to have a little donkey. The juxtaposition between Sir Simpleton’s advice and his actions is illustrated by Jenn Harney. A Kirkus Reviews contributor noted that the contrast in what Sir Simpleton says and what he does and Sam’s questioning of him invites “readers to align themselves with him [Sam] in their superior knowledge.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, Sarah Hunter, review of Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!, p. 70.
Horn Book, September-October, 2015, Patrick Gall, review of Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!, p. 88.
Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 2010, review of How about a Kiss for Me?; August 1, 2012, review of Ten Tiny Toes; July 1, 2015, review of Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!; June 1, 2018, review of How to Become a Knight (In Ten Easy Lessons); July 15, 2018, review of Three Grumpy Trucks.
Publishers Weekly, June 21, 2010, review of How about a Kiss for Me?, p. 45; July 9, 2012, review of Ten Tiny Toes, p. 61; July 6, 2015, review of Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!, p. 68; December 2, 2015, review of Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!, p. 41; July 9, 2018, review of Three Grumpy Trucks, p. 90.
School Library Journal, August, 2010, Susan E. Murray, review of How about a Kiss for Me?, p. 87; August, 2012, Gay Lynn Van Vleck, review of Ten Tiny Toes, p. 88; September 2015, Marianne Saccardi, review of Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!, p. 129.
ONLINE
Blogger, https://www.blogger.com/ (October 2, 2018), author profile.
Todd Tarpley
My Photo
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On Blogger since November 2006
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My blogs
The Tarp Report
Wrestling for Gable
Todd Tarpley's Books
Tarp Street Journal 2017
About This Year's Photo
Tarp Street Journal 2016
Blogs I follow
Daytonian in Manhattan
About me
Gender MALE
Occupation Children's author, dad, digital media guy
Location NYC
Introduction "Don't worry, Baby. Everything will turn out all right." - Brian Wilson
Interests Kids, dogs, and waterparks
Favorite Music Beatles
Favorite Books How the Grinch Stole Christmas
About Todd Tarpley
My list of the greatest things in life is pretty short: Watching a 1-year-old walk. Tickling a 2-year-old. Listening to a 3-year-old talk about his day. Seeing my own little kids blossom into big kids.
Somewhere there's a parent and a child cuddled up together reading a book, maybe even under the covers by flashlight. And there is giggling and page-turning and flailing limbs and joy and snot and probably some farting. And how great is that?
It's the greatest.
Visit me at toddtarpley.com.
DownloadPDF
Tarpley, Todd. Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!
Marianne Saccardi
School Library Journal. 61.9 (Sept. 2015): p129.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2015 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
TARPLEY, Todd. Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep! illus. by John Rocco. 40p. Little, Brown. Sept. 2015. Tr $17. ISBN 9780316254434. LC 2013023723.
PreS-Gr 1--A boy tries desperately to get his three robots to sleep. He leads them into the bathroom for rotor brushing and shield cleaning and finally settles them and himself into bed. But just as the snappy rhyming text suggests the robots are fast asleep, a page turn repeatedly indicates otherwise. "BEEP! BEEP!" bleep tire robots as they report "sensor aches," the need for a light and more oil and a coil, and problems with a loose belt or tight bolt. Finally, in utter frustration, the boy issues an ultimatum: "No more blipping!/Blinking-boinking!/ Winking-whirring!/Squinking-oinking!" Of course, they ignore him with a last request: "a bedtime story." Then no more sounds ensue, for the robots have "finally put/their boy to sleep." The illustrations, created with pencil, watercolor, and digital paint, greatly extend the text. The chaotic bathroom spread shows a robot entangled in toilet tissue as another overflows the sink with bubbles and toothpaste and a third sprays water well beyond the bathtub. The boy first rests with a wary eye on the troublemakers, yawns in hopeful anticipation of quiet, and finally lies spread-eagled in exhaustion. Alert readers will notice that a mouse, which has its own bed in the room, joins in the antics from start to finish. VERDICT A delightful tale of bedtime role-reversal that sharp youngsters will appreciate.--Marianne Saccardi, Children's Literature Consultant, Greenwich, CT
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Saccardi, Marianne. "Tarpley, Todd. Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!" School Library Journal, Sept. 2015, p. 129. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A427423717/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=5ed9aeed. Accessed 29 Aug. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A427423717
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Print Marked Items
Tarpley, Todd: THREE GRUMPY
TRUCKS
Kirkus Reviews.
(July 15, 2018):
COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Tarpley, Todd THREE GRUMPY TRUCKS Little, Brown (Children's Fiction) $17.99 9, 4 ISBN: 978-0-
316-34122-6
Heck hath no fury like a toy whose playtime has been interrupted.
Tarpley offers up another misbehaving toy trio with a kid thrust into the role of parent (Beep! Beep! Go to
Sleep!, 2015). On a sunny day, a hard hat-clad child scooters to the playground, taking three toy trucks
along. The trucks thoroughly enjoy whirring, grinding, chomping, and more. Three times their child
guardian tells them they must leave, and two times they whine to stay longer--pitching an all-out hissy fit
the third. Soothed in her arms (in a surprise twist, the child's construction helmet is removed to reveal a
ponytail and the narrative introduces the feminine pronoun), they calm down and are brought home to
dream of digging adventures to come. Tarpley keeps the short and rhyming text perky with blessedly perfect
scansion. And thanks to the positioning of child as parental figure, kids may find themselves sympathizing
with both the temper-tantrum-ers and the temper-tantrum-ee. Pleasant, cartoonish art rendered in
watercolors, pastels, and colored pencils give the book a mild jolt of pep.
This surefire hit with construction fans happily bestows some much-needed sympathy on those caregivers
wrangling with little "trucks" of their own. (Picture book. 3-6)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Tarpley, Todd: THREE GRUMPY TRUCKS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 July 2018. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A546323069/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=fbe23b7b.
Accessed 29 Aug. 2018.
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Three Grumpy Trucks
Publishers Weekly.
265.28 (July 9, 2018): p90+.
COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Three Grumpy Trucks
Todd Tarpley, illus. by Guy Parker-Rees. Little, Brown, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-316-34122-6
Three toy trucks are having a marvelous time at the playground, giving their all to a build. "Hours later,"
they're clearly hot and tired, and their owner, a young girl, says it's time to go. In response, they delay
("Five more minutes! Let us stay! /Okay? Okay? OKAY?") and delay, then have a collective meltdown
("They made an awful screeching sound./ They banged their bumpers on the ground") and collapse into an
exhausted, messy pile as children look on in dismay. Art may imitate life, but Tarpley (My Grandma's a
Ninja) and Parker-Rees (Giraffes Can't Dance) aren't here to say "gotcha." They're sympathetic to the toys
and their owner, and show that with patience (the girl never loses her temper) and unconditional love (she
hugs the trucks, cleans them up, and puts them to bed), the trucks will live to dig another day. The bright
multimedia illustrations contain just enough of a sketchbook looseness to feel composed on the spot, while
the rhyming text has the authentic ring of both a real-life tantrum and pretend construction:
"WHOMMMMPPPP!" Ages 4-8. (Sept.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Three Grumpy Trucks." Publishers Weekly, 9 July 2018, p. 90+. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A547988617/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=bfa9d22c.
Accessed 29 Aug. 2018.
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Tarpley, Todd: HOW TO BECOME A
KNIGHT (IN TEN EASY LESSONS)
Kirkus Reviews.
(June 1, 2018):
COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Tarpley, Todd HOW TO BECOME A KNIGHT (IN TEN EASY LESSONS) Sterling (Children's Fiction)
$16.95 8, 7 ISBN: 978-1-4549-2330-5
A comical guide to knighthood.
Sam wants to be a knight, so he seeks advice from Sir Simpleton--an apt name indeed. Sir Simpleton says
he is a "professional dragon tamer, sword fighter, world explorer, and--this week--knight trainer!" Sir
Simpleton proceeds to offer activity-appropriate advice through dialogue ("Get a bright, shiny suit of
armor!"), which is then contradicted by his actions in the illustrations. This technique of humorous
counterpoint between art and text is apparent in each spread as Sam is told to get the aforementioned armor
while Sir Simpleton dons a feathery chicken suit of sorts, to get a "big, fast horse" while Sir Simpleton sits
atop a small donkey, and so on. Sam follows the spoken advice and repeatedly challenges his mentor's silly
actions, inviting readers to align themselves with him in their superior knowledge. While this might
provoke laughter, the book falls flat without much storytelling to hold it together, as Sam and Sir Simpleton
both achieve knighthood by the book's end but otherwise remain unchanged throughout the text. Sam is
depicted as a young child of color and Sir Simpleton as a hulking, white behemoth.
Not a good knight book--but not a bad one either. (Picture book. 2-5)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Tarpley, Todd: HOW TO BECOME A KNIGHT (IN TEN EASY LESSONS)." Kirkus Reviews, 1 June
2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A540723339/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=45f6a767. Accessed 29 Aug. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A540723339
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Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!
Publishers Weekly.
262.49 (Dec. 2, 2015): p41.
COPYRIGHT 2015 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!
Todd Tarpley, illus. by John Rocco. Little, Brown, $17 ISBN 978-0-316-25443-4
This book accomplishes two important goals: it's wonderfully entertaining, and it gives parents a welldeserved
opportunity to tell their offspring, "Welcome to my world." A responsible-looking boy is trying to
get his three robot charges--who, like their human counterparts, are full of beans at bedtime--to go to sleep:
"Three little robots, time for bed/ Time to dim your infrared." Every time the boy thinks he has ushered
them into slumberland, with the goal of getting some shut-eye himself, a new obstacle pops up ("Is
something wrong?" "I need my coil!"/ "My sensor aches!" "I want more oil!"). When peace finally prevails,
Tarpley (Ten Tiny Toes) and Rocco (Blizzard) offer another twist, best summed up as "Who's tucking in
who?" The rambunctious robots will win readers' hearts from the title page, when they swing from a light
fixture and bounce on the sofa. But the human hero is equally appealing: dressed in dadlike striped pajamas,
he has clearly had an excellent role model when it comes to be being a loving and put-upon authority figure.
Ages 3-6.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!" Publishers Weekly, 2 Dec. 2015, p. 41. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A436234082/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=6d8afac4.
Accessed 29 Aug. 2018.
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Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!
Patrick Gall
The Horn Book Magazine.
91.5 (September-October 2015): p88+.
COPYRIGHT 2015 The Horn Book, Inc.. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Sources, Inc. No
redistribution permitted.
http://www.hbook.com/magazine/default.asp
Full Text:
Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!
by Todd Tarpley; illus. by John Rocco
Preschool, Primary Little, Brown 40 pp. 9/15 978-0-316-25443-4 $17.00 g
e-book ed. 978-0-316-38800-9 $9.99
Opening endpapers set the stage for the evening's events as a pajama-clad boy desperately chases after three
retro robots. A turn of the page reveals, through title and art, that it's time for bed. The boy guides the bots
through their nighttime rituals--"Brush your rotors 'round and 'round. Clean your shields ... and power
down"--and with everyone successfully tucked in ("Quiet at last, not a peep"), it seems as if the boy's
mission is accomplished. But then ... "BEEP! BEEP!" The robots are awake and stalling for time: "My
sensor aches!" "I want more oil!" The tired boy remedies the bots' woes, then finally reaches his limit and
throws a Seussian fit: "No more blipping! Blinking-boinking! Winking-whirring! Squinkingoinking!"
Undeterred, the robots rouse the boy again, this time to ask for a bedtime story (3 Little Robots), which puts
"their boy to sleep"--leaving the robots to resume their gleeful race throughout the house. Tarpley's rhyming
text is embellished by Rocco's mixed-media illustrations, with their individualized settings (Rocco's eye for
detail gives each room in the house a unique atmosphere), dynamic lighting, and distinctive
characterizations (including a helpful, unsung mouse). Spot-on page turns and seamless transitions from
straight narration to speech balloons encourage audience participation. This engaging and playful bedtime
story will leave few children feeling "powered down."
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Gall, Patrick. "Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!" The Horn Book Magazine, Sept.-Oct. 2015, p. 88+. General
OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A427758448/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=c439bad5. Accessed 29 Aug. 2018.
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Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!
Sarah Hunter
Booklist.
111.22 (Aug. 1, 2015): p70+.
COPYRIGHT 2015 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep! By Todd Tarpley. Illus. by John Rocco. Sept. 2015. 40p. Little, Brown, $17
(9780316254434). PreS-K.
A tousle-haired little boy is helping his three robot friends get ready for bed: "Brush your rotors 'round and
'round. / Clean your shields ... and power down." After some sudsy, puddly high jinks in the bathroom,
everyone is settled in for the night--the boy in a bed, the robots on a tiny metal bunk. But just when it seems
everyone is asleep, the robots wake the boy with a boisterous "BEEP! BEEP!" and a litany of tiny
complaints. Over and over again, the robots wake him with more requests until, finally, they ask for a story,
which puts the boy to sleep. Parents will recognize this familiar bedtime routine, and little ones will chuckle
over the cheery, toddlerlike robots' antics. Rocco's luminous illustrations are rich with glowing lights,
lifelike depth, and saturated color, and his retro-futuristic robots are alive with vivid expressiveness.
Tarpley's lilting couplets are a joy to read aloud, and the repeated interrupted refrain of "three little robots
are ..." will surely delight kiddos listening in.--Sarah Hunter
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Hunter, Sarah. "Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!" Booklist, 1 Aug. 2015, p. 70+. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A428997959/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=fce7ef2c.
Accessed 29 Aug. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A428997959
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Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!
Publishers Weekly.
262.27 (July 6, 2015): p68.
COPYRIGHT 2015 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
* Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!
Todd Tarpley, illus. by John Rocco. Little, Brown, $17 (40p) ISBN 978-0-316-25443-4
This book accomplishes two important goals: it's wonderfully entertaining, and it gives parents a welldeserved
opportunity to tell their offspring, "Welcome to my world." A responsible-looking boy is trying to
get his three robot charges--who, like their human counterparts, are full of beans at bedtime--to go to sleep:
"Three little robots, time for bed/Time to dim your infrared." Every time the boy thinks he has ushered them
into slumberland, with the goal of getting some shuteye himself, a new obstacle pops up ("Is something
wrong?" "I need my coil!"/ "My sensor aches!" "I want more oil!"). When peace finally prevails, Tarpley
(Ten Tiny Toes) and Rocco (Blizzard) offer another twist, best summed up as "Who's tucking in who?" The
rambunctious robots will win readers' hearts from the title page, when they swing from a light fixture and
bounce on the sofa. But the human hero is equally appealing: dressed in dadlike striped pajamas, he has
clearly had an excellent role model when it comes to be being a loving and put-upon authority figure. Ages
3-6. Author's agent: Rachel Orr, Prospect Agency. Illustrator's agent: Rob Weisbach, Weisbach Creative
Management. (Sept.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!" Publishers Weekly, 6 July 2015, p. 68. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A421321801/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=edadcf9a.
Accessed 29 Aug. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A421321801
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Tarpley, Todd: BEEP! BEEP! GO TO
SLEEP!
Kirkus Reviews.
(July 1, 2015):
COPYRIGHT 2015 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Tarpley, Todd BEEP! BEEP! GO TO SLEEP! Little, Brown (Children's Picture Books) $17.00 9, 8 ISBN:
978-0-316-25443-4
A tricksy and playful rhyming robot bedtime story that will power down the little ones.As nighttime
approaches, a little boy gathers his three little robots to take them to bed. He guides them through his prebedtime
routine of tooth-brushing, toilet use, and bathing, and then they stroll toward the bedroom. Once
they are tucked into bed, the room is finally silent and the text reads, "Quiet at last, not a peep. Three little
robots are..."--but then the page turns, and "BEEP! BEEP!" Throughout the night those words are constantly
repeated as the boy tries mightily to find new ways to make his three little robots fall asleep. Tarpley's
rhymes and wordplay will drive children to join in. The watercolors and digital painting used by Rocco
bring life to the characters and help convey both the energy of the unruly robots and the boy's frustration
while he struggles to get his robots to sleep. It's interesting to note that here the protagonist works out his
sleeplessness through his robots instead of stuffed toys, as in many other picture books, showcasing the
influence of technology on today's bedtime routines.The short and rhyming text, along with its colorful
illustrations, makes this book a great read-aloud for robot or pajama storytimes as well as bedtime lap
reading. (Picture book. 3-5)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Tarpley, Todd: BEEP! BEEP! GO TO SLEEP!" Kirkus Reviews, 1 July 2015. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A419698499/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=d411b8ff.
Accessed 29 Aug. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A419698499