THE MAGNIFICENT FLYING BARON ESTATE
BY Eric Bower
Published by Amberjack Publishing May 16, 2017
I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Middle school boys and girls are going to be cracking up all over the place as they read this way-out-there hilarious book. There will be knee slapping, falling out of chairs, and outbursts of giggling as they “fly” through the pages of this story. “Sometimes laughing manically feels really good.” The middle school humor is what makes the book so good. It is one liners, puns, word plays, jokes, slapstick and just plain nonsense.
The main character, Waldo Baron, or more affectionately simply called W.B., is a very lovable character. The first thing middle schoolers will love is that W.B. has to be the clumsiest child on the planet. He is constantly tripping, dropping, falling, stumbling, running into, crashing into, blundering, fumbling and misstepping throughout the story. He takes it all in stride and doesn’t let his lack of grace stop him. He and the other characters are constantly getting themselves into messes. Also, W.B.’s parents are nuts. They are really what you would call socially awkward and have no clue as to what is going on and don’t care unless it involves one of their inventions. The interactions between W.B. and his parents, although exaggerated, add more humor to the story. No one really knows what the other one is talking about and everyone is do easily distracted that they never follow the flow of the conversation. This leads to more problems than solutions. W.B. is a character that the readers will love. With crazy inventor parents, his world is full of adventures. Sequel?
The plot of the story is middle school crazy too. A flying house designed to compete in a race around the country to pick up specific products and return to Chicago to win $500. When the Baron Estate picks up an unwanted passenger, Rose Blackwood, things start getting really crazy. Rose is the sister of the notorious outlaw Benedict Blackwood that is always being chased by “Sheriff Hoyt Graham and his deputies.
“Benedict Blackwood, who was said to be so mean and nasty that if you made him mad in a dream, he’d knock your lights out when he woke up.” That’s one bad dude! Rose hijacks the flying estate and kidnaps W.B.’s family so they can help her rescue her brother. They meet a bunch of trouble and a colorful array of characters. Yosemite Sam move over!
This book is one crazy ride. It is a mixed-up, science fiction, funny western. Bower combines all of these to create THE MAGNIFICENT FLYING BARON ESTATE.
I am seriously considering using this in my classroom as a read aloud. I believe my 6th graders will really get a kick out of W.B.’s outlandish adventures. They will love everything about this book.
This book could be adapted into a project. Teacher makes teams/individuals that will travel by car (maybe allow them one plane, train, or boat leg) to certain destinations, predetermined by the teacher-maybe themed-MLB stadiums, national parks, state capitals, famous restaurants, historical sites, natural disaster sites, famous memorials, and the hometown of authors... The possibilities are endless. For the journey, each team is given a set amount of money on a "debit card". Using a check register (local banks love to donate these to teachers), teams must keep track of money spent on gas, food, lodging, souvenirs and miscellaneous expenses. Students use the internet to book lodging, find local restaurants, and gas prices. You could "old school" it by making them decide the routes by using a printed atlas. The team that accomplished the task first and with the most money left, wins. This project opens so many doors for cross-curricular studies and teacher collaboration. To add excitement, the teacher could have a basket full of daily drawing slips: flat time costs $75 to repair, out of gas $95 to hire tow truck, 10% discount on all lodging for today... get the idea?
This book could be adapted into a project. Teacher makes teams/individuals that will travel by car (maybe allow them one plane, train, or boat leg) to certain destinations, predetermined by the teacher-maybe themed-MLB stadiums, national parks, state capitals, famous restaurants, historical sites, natural disaster sites, famous memorials, and the hometown of authors... The possibilities are endless. For the journey, each team is given a set amount of money on a "debit card". Using a check register (local banks love to donate these to teachers), teams must keep track of money spent on gas, food, lodging, souvenirs and miscellaneous expenses. Students use the internet to book lodging, find local restaurants, and gas prices. You could "old school" it by making them decide the routes by using a printed atlas. The team that accomplished the task first and with the most money left, wins. This project opens so many doors for cross-curricular studies and teacher collaboration. To add excitement, the teacher could have a basket full of daily drawing slips: flat time costs $75 to repair, out of gas $95 to hire tow truck, 10% discount on all lodging for today... get the idea?
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