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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
A new book in the same vein as I Funny and Middle School.
School Library Journal
( November 01, 2014; 9780316405911 )
Gr 3-6-Sammy Hayes-Rodriguez has never had an easy time fitting in at school. His mother is an inventor, his father is a graphic novel artist, and his beloved little sister has an immune condition that keeps her confined to the house. His best friend Trip has a talent for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. And then, there are the robots: a houseful of his mother's creations, programmed to do everything from housework to tutoring, plus some that don't do anything useful at all. When Sammy's mother insists that he take a robot named E to school with him, he knows that he's in for a record-breaking amount of teasing and trouble-and when E starts insisting that he is Sammy's brother, the situation goes from bad to worse. Sammy refuses to have anything to do with E at school, even when the robot's popularity starts to eclipse Sammy's and Trip's. But when E is kidnapped, Sammy realizes that he was starting to get fond of his robot brother, and he teams up with friends (both human and robot) to solve the mystery of E's disappearance. This light and funny story incorporates plenty of humor, both in the text and in the accompanying comic-style illustrations. Sammy's relationships with his parents, sister, and best friend are strong, if not particularly nuanced. A fast-moving plot, lots of jokes, and a host of weird robots will draw readers in, especially those looking for books similar to series such as "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" (Abrams/Amulet) and "Timmy Failure" (Candlewick).-Misti Tidman, Licking County Library, Newark, OH (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
**I was surprised that the author of this review found that Sammy's relationships with his "parents, sister, and best friend were not particularly nuanced." I felt as if the relationships were were carefully constructed and felt "real" instead of forced as some character relationships can be. I found Sammy's relationship with his sister to be particularly touching, and having a son in fifth grade myself, I felt his relationships with everyone in the book were similar to what I see in my child's relationships.
( November 01, 2014; 9780316405911 )
Gr 3-6-Sammy Hayes-Rodriguez has never had an easy time fitting in at school. His mother is an inventor, his father is a graphic novel artist, and his beloved little sister has an immune condition that keeps her confined to the house. His best friend Trip has a talent for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. And then, there are the robots: a houseful of his mother's creations, programmed to do everything from housework to tutoring, plus some that don't do anything useful at all. When Sammy's mother insists that he take a robot named E to school with him, he knows that he's in for a record-breaking amount of teasing and trouble-and when E starts insisting that he is Sammy's brother, the situation goes from bad to worse. Sammy refuses to have anything to do with E at school, even when the robot's popularity starts to eclipse Sammy's and Trip's. But when E is kidnapped, Sammy realizes that he was starting to get fond of his robot brother, and he teams up with friends (both human and robot) to solve the mystery of E's disappearance. This light and funny story incorporates plenty of humor, both in the text and in the accompanying comic-style illustrations. Sammy's relationships with his parents, sister, and best friend are strong, if not particularly nuanced. A fast-moving plot, lots of jokes, and a host of weird robots will draw readers in, especially those looking for books similar to series such as "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" (Abrams/Amulet) and "Timmy Failure" (Candlewick).-Misti Tidman, Licking County Library, Newark, OH (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
**I was surprised that the author of this review found that Sammy's relationships with his "parents, sister, and best friend were not particularly nuanced." I felt as if the relationships were were carefully constructed and felt "real" instead of forced as some character relationships can be. I found Sammy's relationship with his sister to be particularly touching, and having a son in fifth grade myself, I felt his relationships with everyone in the book were similar to what I see in my child's relationships.
Listened to this book on cd during a recent car trip. I have to say that it was his enough to keep my attention even when the kids didn't want to listen to it.
Cute story about a boy whose mom invents robots. In fact, they have a while extra house (lab) full of them. This time, mom has invented a brother robot. Cute story with a good ending.
Cute story about a boy whose mom invents robots. In fact, they have a while extra house (lab) full of them. This time, mom has invented a brother robot. Cute story with a good ending.
Fun book about a boy who is forced to go to school with a robot built by his mom. This is a quick read best for 3rd to 5th graders.
This is a really fun book about a boy who lives in a house full of robots that his mother invented. The story is easy to read with a lot of pictures, but it also has a serious message or two about bullying and being different. I enjoyed the humor and the easy read!
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
My son enjoyed this book and now only wants to listen to James Patterson books. We listened to Laugh Out Loud previously and I enjoyed that one better. The boy in this one was not very kind to his robot brother at first. It came along and I'm being super picky because we did enjoy listening.
Sammy is beyond mortified when his brilliant scientist mom sends him to school with her latest robot creation, named E -- especially when everything goes so spectacularly wrong, starting with a nonstop spouting of facts in every class and ending with a fire that cleared out the whole school. As if he didn't get teased enough by No. 1 bully Cooper Elliot. Mom promises to fix E so he'll blend better with his classmates, but of course Sammy's skeptical that any version of E would be an improvement. But E 2.0 is much better, especially when all the kids see E do tricks on his specially made bike and help out everyone at school. Sammy's just about to admit to E that he really does appreciate him -- especially after some serious help with his bully problem
This is a book for anyone who is interested in robots and intriguing characters. The theme of the book is friendship and learning to see the good in other people (or robots). I think this a great, lighthearted book and is a great starting point for a great series
Spoiler
-- when E goes missing. Who could have taken him? And what will Sammy do without him?This is a book for anyone who is interested in robots and intriguing characters. The theme of the book is friendship and learning to see the good in other people (or robots). I think this a great, lighthearted book and is a great starting point for a great series
Let me start by saying I have a librarian’s irrational dislike for anything with the (purported) author of James Patterson. I listened to this because one of my young patrons, Emily, said I *had* to listen to it, and since she’s patiently accepted audiobook recommendations from me for a long time, I figured I owed it to her to take one in return. I was pleasantly surprised...I can’t say that I liked it, but it wasn’t as bad as I feared. There was way too much reliance on stereotyped archetypes (the jock bully, the nerd, the angelic sick sister) and lazy story development, but it had good pacing, a light mystery aspect, and overtones of saccharine justice. Overall a solid middling read.