Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #66104 in Books
• Published on: 2006-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 96 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780439826013
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
The Iron Giant meets Clifford the Big Red Dog in Dav Pilkey's Ricky Ricotta's Giant Robot, the first book in an illustrated series for early readers. Ricky is a young mouse who needs a friend, is bullied by schoolmates, and is waiting for something BIG to happen. But he never expected the arrival of anything as big as Dr. Stinky McNasty's giant robot, created by the evil doctor to destroy all of Squeakyville. When the robot refuses to demolish the town, however, Ricky steps up to save it from the ensuing wrath of the maniacal doctor--twice! In some very Clifford-esque perspectives, the friendly iron giant dwarfs Ricky's neighborhood, scares crows (and bullies), and allows Ricky's new friends to ride on his back. In the end children will be satisfied to see the doctor's secret cave detonated by the very electro-rocket he wanted to use on his errant robot, and even more satisfied to see the robot depositing Dr. Stinky McNasty into the city jail. (Ages 6 and older)

From Publishers Weekly
"Some day something BIG will happen, and you will find a friend," his father tells Ricky, a lonely mouse whose diminutive stature makes him a target of bullies. Mr. Ricotta is only partially right: Ricky does find a friend, but nothing of consequence happens in this slim volumeAthe first in a series. The book features the same "flip-o-rama" technique (readers flip certain pages back and forth, creating the effect of animation) as do Pilkey's Captain Underpants titles. Unfortunately, both the artwork (which looks suspiciously like Pilkey's) and the plot lack the wry bite and comic energy of that earlier series. Evil Dr. Stinky McNasty creates an enormous robot that refuses to obey a command to stomp out Ricky's hometown of Squeakyville. When the mad doctor tries to punish his uncooperative invention, the tiny mouse comes to the defense of the giant robot and it follows him home. Ricky's new "pet" bests the bullies, wows Ricky's class at school and manages to foil Dr. Stinky's attempt at revenge. Pilkey's tale may well give timid or bullied kids a shot of reassurance, but its humor falls as flat as Dr. Stinky's attempt to destroy the city. In eight adventures scheduled to follow, Ricky's robot battles creatures from other planets. Ages 6-10. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 2-4-In an accessible, highly illustrated format, Pilkey writes an adventure story with great appeal to lonely little guys everywhere. Ricky Ricotta is a nice mouse who is the victim of daily bullying. He longs for a friend, but is still waiting to find one. Luckily for Ricky, a mad scientist, Dr. Stinky McNasty, has created a giant robot that he is planning to use to rule the world. The robot refuses to destroy the city and Ricky stops McNasty from hurting it. Soon the robot and the mouse are great friends, and Ricky no longer has to worry about bullies. McNasty seeks revenge by turning Ricky's classroom pet lizard into an evil monster, but the robot defeats it and puts the villain in jail. Ontiveros's black-and-white cartoons have lots of activity, and the two "flip-o-rama action scenes" add to the fun. Instructions for drawing the robot and lizard monster are also included. With barely more text than a long easy-reader, this title will be a heaven-sent choice for kids with reading difficulties. And, they'll be thrilled to discover that this is just the first in a planned series.
Anne Connor, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Robot to the rescue!
Thank you, Dav, for providing us with a new series of books to look forward to. When my children were little, I made it a habit to read all books prior to giving them to my children to read, to make sure they were appropriate. I do the same for my grandchildren now. I fell in love with Captain Underpants and the Dumb Bunnies, and now I have Ricky Ricotta and his giant robot to look forward to. My 5-year old grandchild, who will start school this September, loves this new book. He was absolutely fascinated with the illustrations, and has spent many hours copying the pictures of Ricky and the robot. He says that when he starts school if someone starts to bully him, he will remember how Ricky handled it and not be afraid. Keep up the good work, Mr. Pilkey and Mr. Ontiveros. Kids today need these kinds of heroes.

Every boy should read this!!!!!
It is very hard to find books for little boys (starting readers), that are page turners. We slogged through the "the - wheels - turn- around - and - around" books. You know the ones with a large picture and some repetitive sentence on each page. Never mind my son, I thought even I had ADD. But we read this book in one go. That had never happened before. He is now checking out each book store for the sequel. Dave Pilkey rules!!!!

Great for First Chapter Book!
One again, thank you Dav! Ricky R is the "breakthrough" book for my reluctant reader 6 year old son. For the first time, he could not stop reading a book and was proud to have finished a chapter book. Attention all elementary school librarians who will not put "Captain Underpants" in libraries because of the toilet talk...give Ricky R a try and all the parents of little boys will be grateful! While this book does not have the same level of wit as Captain Underpants, it is really geared to a younger reader. My son thought it was a riot!