Day 10 of Summer 2019 Bookaday Challenge: Revenge of the Enginerds

Vlog Transcript Below

Slide 1: My name is Kate Narita, and this is day 10 of my summer 2019 #Bookaday challenge. Today I will be talking about Revenge of the Enginerds.

Slide 2: I always like to talk about how I obtained a book. I was fortunate enough to buy this book at The Silver Unicorn in Acton, MA. They had an author’s event featuring Jarrett Lerner, the author of The Revenge of the Enginerds, and Rajani LaRocca, the author of Midsummer’s Mayhem.

Slide 3: Revenge of the Enginerds will make you laugh out loud. It’s hilarious, and it’s super silly. It’s great for readers who want to read a novel but do well with short chapters. I think the longest chapter was maybe five pages. On average, I would say they’re four pages. This is a book that will make readers feel successful. I had a personal connection to this book. One of the funniest places for me occurred in the climax where the robot says, “Where’s the beef?” When I was in elementary school, my mother accompanied my brother’s class on a field trip to a bun-making factory in Chicago. All they made were buns. When my mother got her bun, she said, “Where’s the beef?” After that all of the first graders on the trip said, “Where’s the beef? Where’s the beef?” Needless to say, my mother was never asked to chaperone another field trip. 

Slide 4: If you have students who like this silly kind of humor and really want more of it, then I highly suggest you check out The Butt Wars series by Andy Griffiths. These novels are also hilarious. I would say they’re a little bit harder to read than Jarrett’s Revenge of the Enginerds or Enginerds. They’re a little longer, and there’s more text on the page. But they’re in the same vein. 

Slide 5: Finally, if you have readers who are really advanced but still enjoy that silly kind of humor, I highly recommend Platte F. Clark’s Bad Unicorn trilogy. It’s absolutely hilarious. It’s brilliant. He does an excellent job of weaving together a pretty complex plot, and the characters also make you laugh out loud.

Slide 6: Finally, I always like to suggest picture books in the same vein. Of course there’s the fabulous Chicken Cheeks by Michael Ian Black and Walter the Farting Dog by William Kotzwinkle and Glenn Murray. So, if you want to make a class laugh out loud but you don’t have time for a novel, be sure to check out these two picture books.

Slide 7: Lastly I want to say that Jarrett Lerner along with Ann Braden started #KidsNeedMentors which is a fabulous program across the nation. I participated in it this year. This is one of the classes I mentored, Mrs. Hopkins’ first grade class. If you’re an author, please consider signing up. It’s an incredible service and you will learn a lot. If you’re a teacher, please make sure you put yourself on the waiting list. Thanks again.