Robert and the Weird and Wacky Facts (Robert Books) - Hardcover

Seuling, Barbara

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0812626532 ISBN 13: 9780812626537

Publisher: Cricket Books, 2002

Synopsis

Robert is back for another round of hilarious adventures, and this time he’s pitted against his archrival Susanne in a classroom contest. "People used to think a runny nose meant your brain was leaking." Third-grader Robert learns this and other wacky facts when he and his friend Paul start training to be contestants on The Instant Millionaire. When Robert discovers that he’s too young to be on the show, he submits his teacher’s name. Nothing goes as planned after that, but Robert tries his best to set matters straight. Fans of the previous Robert books will love this new story of the boy’s antics as he gets in over his head once again.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 2-4-Seuling shares her long-standing penchant for arcana with her popular protagonist and his best friend, Paul, in her third "Robert" book. A classroom contest modeled after Robert's favorite TV program, Instant Millionaire Show, sends Robert and his classmates to the serial Weird & Wacky Facts to bone up on the fattest president, wingless birds, and armadillo progeny patterns. Despite the strangeness promised by the title, the eight-year-old's escapades are everyday preadolescent concerns. Will his bridge project make it to school undamaged? Will he go to jail for psychically making know-it-all Suzanne Lee sick? Will he get punished for mailing a couple of his mom's rare postcards? And, most importantly, will the boys win the contest? Robert, an artificially average child, promotes teamwork (at least among the boys); disses nerds who read medal-winning books (girls, of course); good-naturedly accepts criticism from his mother and teacher; writes a slithery ode to the class's pet snake; and assuages his guilt by making a creative get-well card and picking Suzanne Lee as the subject for his "who I admire" essay. Brewer's occasionally humorous sketches help propel chapter-book readers through the meandering text.
John Sigwald, Unger Memorial Library, Plainview, TX
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

Gr. 2-4. Seuling's books about the everyday adventures of young Robert Dorfman deliver easy-to-read text, a fast-moving plot, short chapters, and witty writing. In this story, third-grader Robert is enamored with the bits of information in the Weird and Wacky Facts books. He figures that if he memorizes all of the facts in every book in the series, he'll be able to appear on the Instant Millionaire show and win a fortune. Later in the novel, he comes to the conclusion that he has developed magical powers and can make things happen merely by wishing them. By the end of the story, however, he discovers that his string of good luck was not magical after all. Brewer adds to the laughs with his cartoon illustrations, featuring characters with big heads and even bigger hair. Another winning installment in a fun series. Todd Morning
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Cricket Books
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0812626532
• ISBN 13: 9780812626537
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 112
• Illustrator: Brewer Paul