Revenge of the Enginerds by Jarrett Lerner

How I Heard About It:  one of my favorite class read aloud books last year was Enginerds by Jarrett Lerner.  My class had the pleasure of Skyping with him last year.  I also got to meet him in person during #NerdCampMI this past July.  He is the best guy and I had so much fun getting to know him.  The sequel came to me via my #bookexpedition reading Twitter group.  


What It Is About - FIVE Things You Need to Know:  

1.  *The story picks up right where the first book left off.  The boys had captured all of the robots except for one.  That robot is still on the loose.


2.  *The "main" enginerd is quite concerned about the whereabouts of this missing robot, but his "crew" doesn't seem as worried.  Ken can't quite figure out why this might be?

3.  *When Ken meets the new girl at school named Mikaela, he begins to figure out why his buddies might be slightly distracted from their task at hand.

4.  *Mikaela is obsessed with aliens and UFO's.  She is convinced that the "happenings" in town are because of aliens and not the missing robot.  

5.  As hard as Ken tried to find the robot before it does more damage, he is torn between his mission and that of Mikaela and her followers.  Can they all do the right thing before it is too late?


What I Thought Of It:  Fun, fun, fun!  I sometimes worry about sequels and measuring up to the first story.  Since I loved the first book so much, as did my students, I was a tad bit worried about the follow-up.  That worry was unnecessary because this second story was just as good, fun, and interesting.  I enjoyed how Jarrett creates a story with short chapters.  This is such a huge selling point to fourth grade readers; along with other age groups.  The plot moves at a fast and exciting pace.  Each chapter ends with a bit of a cliff-hanger leaving the reader wanting more.  I kept telling myself I would read one more chapter.  This kept happening until I finished the entire story.  I can't wait to share the first book with my new class this year and share with them that a sequel is on its way this winter.  


Who Should Read It:   I highly recommend this title, and the first one, to all readers in grades three, four, five, and even six.  I also think that strong readers in grade two could handle the story.  The book would be perfect for a read aloud.  I'll be sharing it with my own class this fall.  These are exactly the types of books we need in our elementary classrooms.  Thanks Jarrett.  Happy Reading!  

Rating:  4 STARS out of 5 Stars!