Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In his audiobook debut, reader Patterson (the 16-year-old-son of the James Patterson) gives a heartfelt, animated delivery and, in tandem with the authors, proves that having a robot brother is a premise that does not just entail silliness. The robot is E, and the siblings are Maddie and Sammy Hayes-Rodriguez. Much to Sammy's chagrin, E will be accompanying him to school, which lays the groundwork for three enjoyable hours of listening hors. After E disappears without a trace, the audiobook mesmerizes due to the plot and the reader's performance. Authors Patterson and Grabenstein provide an appealing story line, with short chapters for those with comparable attention spans, never missing an opportunity to educate their young audience on severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), hand washing, and science. The authors never dumb down their amusing and meaningful lessons about friendship, family, and feelings, and the story is charming through reader Patterson's wonderfully brought-to-life characters. Kudos to whoever had the idea of using synthesizer-style effects on Patterson's voice for robot E. This technique makes an already delightful listen even more entertaining, and Patterson delivers age-appropriate voices for each character, adding a cartoonish lilt to keep young listeners engaged. Ages 8-12. A Little, Brown hardcover. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-Sammy Hayes-Rodriguez is subject to the most awful, most embarrassing thing ever: Egghead, his mother's brilliant but socially inept robot will be joining him in fifth grade. Instead of being thrilled by his robo-bro, Sammy is mortified as "E" tries to enhance school bus boarding safety, fact-checks the teachers, bear-hugs Sammy at inappropriate times, and even causes a fire. Listeners also meet Sammy's home-schooled sister Maddie, whose autoimmune disorder makes her susceptible to infection, and his "second best friend" Trip, who jealously acquires a robot of his own. Jack Patterson is an excellent narrator who deploys a variety of voices, including a distinctive one for E. The 75 short chapters (most between two and three minutes) are full of tween humor, funny robot descriptions, and multicultural and nontraditional characters (both human and robotic.) An included PDF file contains 165 of Juliana Neufeld's illustrations. VERDICT Suggested for purchase where listeners enjoy the "Diary of Wimpy Kid" and "Dork Diaries" series.-Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Sammy is less than thrilled when his genius inventor mother creates a robot brother for him.Sammy Hayes-Rodriguez's life has always been filled with robots. His mother has invented automatons that clean the floors, mow the lawn, give traffic reports and even plant fantastic gardens. Sammy's school has until now been a robot-free zone, but when Mom invents E (for Egghead, or maybe Einstein Jr.his parents can't decide) and insists Sammy take the new robot to school, things get out of hand. Chronicling the ups and downs of an entire school year with a robot brother, the authors put cute sci-fi twists on first-time crushes, school bullies and best-friend troubles. There's nothing here that breaks new ground or illuminates the psyche of young boys in any new or interesting ways, but there are plenty of amusing jokes. Young readers with an interest in science will certainly be engaged. A subplot featuring Sammy's younger sister, a brilliant girl who is homebound by severe combined immunodeficiency disorder, is as by-the-numbers as the rest of the book, but it doesn't tie in to the robot plot until the very end. It's hard to tell if this development is a clumsy climax or an awkward setup for a sequel. Either way, it doesn't work well with everything that came beforehand. A perfectly acceptable and predictable trifle. (Science fiction. 9-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
