Dav Pilkey’s Ricky Ricotta Series and Telescope Giveaway! (ends 9/12/14)
I work with children in a childcare setting. Most children are only with us for a short time, however we do see a few regulars from time to time.
We like to encourage children to read. That is important to us. That is why we give each child who comes through our doors a free book that they can take home and enjoy.
The books we give our are donated. Many have been “well loved” and show obvious signs of wear and tear. Other books are practically brand new.
Not too long ago I received a set of books from the Ricky Ricotta series. The books are written by Dav Pilkey and illustrated by Dan Santat. I have never heard of the series until now.
I am familiar with Dav Pilkey. He writes one of my kid’s favorite book series Captain Underpants.
I read through the first book in the series, Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot. I loved it! I wish these books were around when my son was younger. He’s a “reluctant reader”. He always has been. I think he would have really enjoyed these books.
I did give him the books I received to review and asked if he would read them but he told me “no”. I guess he felt like they were too “young” for him. That might be true, but I enjoyed reading the book and my husband read most of one of the books to and he enjoyed it at well and clearly we are NOT the “target audience” for these books.
In addition to action packed stories and fun illustrations there are also “mini-comics” throughout the books too.
If you are not familiar with the Ricky Ricotta series here is a brief synopsis.
Ricky Ricotta is a little mouse with BIG problems! Every day he is picked on by the neighborhood bullies. He lives in Squeakyville with his mother and father, and being an only mouse, he is often lonely. That is until SOMETHING BIG HAPPENS! A giant flying robot enters Ricky’s life and an unlikely friendship is born! Together, Ricky and his Robot must save the planet from a galaxy bursting with bad guys!
These are fun books!
I also know that they appeal to children because I took all four books to work with me and they were GONE in two days. The boys went crazy for them – even the older boys (11 years old).
As I mentioned earlier, Dav Pilkey wrote Captain Underpants. He’s also written other popular books.
When Dav Pilkey was a kid, he suffered from ADHD, reading challenges, and behavioral problems. Dav was so disruptive in class that his teachers made him sit out in the hallway every day. Dav loved to draw and make up stories, so he spent this time creating his own original comic books.
In second grade, Dav created a comic book about a superhero named Captain Underpants. His teacher ripped it up and told him he couldn’t spend the rest of his life making silly books. Fortunately, Dav was not a very good listener.
Dav has written and illustrated many bestselling books for children, including the Captain Underpants series with over 70 million books in print, the Ricky Ricotta series, and The Paperboy, a Caldecott Honor Book.
Dav grew up in Ohio and now lives with his wife in the Pacific Northwest. You can learn more about him at www.Pilkey.com.
The books are illustrated by Dan Santat who has illustrated many other books.
Dan Santat attended the University of California, San Diego, where he received a degree in biology. Thankfully, he had a change of heart and went on to pursue an illustration degree from the Art Center College of Design, where he graduated with honors.
After a few years of designing art for video games, Dan switched his attention to children’s books. Since then, Dan has written and illustrated several bestselling books for children, including The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend and Sidekicks. Dan also created the Disney animated hit The Replacements.
Dan was born in Brooklyn, New York, and now lives in Southern California with his family. You can find out more by visiting his website at www.Dantat.com.
There are a few books in the Ricky Ricotta series and I suspect there will be many more added to the series over the years. These are really fun books.
BOOK ONE: RICKY RICOTTA’S MIGHTY ROBOT
Little Ricky Ricotta has a problem: the bullies at school pick on him all the time. Until one day, he saves the life of a mighty robot. Together, Ricky and his Robot face the bullies, and save Squeakyville from a giant evil lizard monster. That’s what friends are for!
BOOK TWO: RICKY RICOTTA’S MIGHTY ROBOT VS MUTANT MOSQUITOS FROM MERCURY
Mr. Mosquito hates Mercury. The days are so hot, they melt his flip-flops, and the nights are so cold, his toothpaste freezes solid! He’s decided to take over Earth instead. Ricky and his Robot must stop his army of massive Mutant Mosquitoes!
BOOK THREE: RICKY RICOTTA’S MIGHTY ROBOT VS VOODOO VULTURES FROM VENUS
Victor Von Vulture hates Venus. His toasted cheese sandwiches are always way too gooey, and ice cream melts in a second! So he and his army of Voodoo Vultures try to cast a spell on the Earth. It’s up to Ricky and his Robot to stop them!
BOOK FOUR: RICKY RICOTTA’S MIGHTY ROBOT VS THE MECHA-MONKEYS FROM MARS
Little Ricky Ricotta has a problem: the bullies at school pick on him all the time. Until one day, he saves the life of a mighty robot. Together, Ricky and his Robot face the bullies, and save Squeakyville from a giant evil lizard monster. That’s what friends are for!
Check out the trailer for the book series.
I love it!
For more information you can visit the Ricky Ricotta Official Site or the author’s site, Dav Pilkey.
In addition I would recommend following Scholastic and ScholasticTeach on Twitter and “Like” Scholastic Parents and Scholastic Teachers on Facebook.
For some addition fun check out these links.
Check out the Classroom Guide
View the Book Trailer
Play the Make Your Own Robot Game
Read Chapter Excerpts & a Mini-Comic Excerpt
Download the Character Cards
Check out Ricky Ricotta Printables
I have a fun giveaway for a lucky reader, courtesy of Scholastic. The prize package includes;
- Tabletop refractor telescope
- Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot
- Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot vs Mutant Mosquitos from Mercury
- Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot vs the Voodoo Vultures from Venus
- Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot vs The Mecha-Monkeys from Mars
Thank you Scholastic!
This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only and will end on September 12, 2014 at 11:59 PM (EST). The winner will be chosen at random using a random number generator from all eligible entries. The winner will be notified via e-mail and will have three days to reply or a new winner will be chosen in their place.
To enter please comment on this post and tell me why you’d like to win this prize package.
For extra entries you can use the Rafflecopter widget (below) but you must complete the initial entry requirement or the additional entries wont’ qualify (I do check). Extra entries are optional.
Kimberly
*I received free product samples from Scholastic in order to do this review. There was no compensation. Scholastic will be providing the prize package.
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