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)
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
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.
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