"The Magnificent Flying Baron Estate" is a fun, exciting read for younger (middle-grade) readers. It follows twelve-year-old Waldo "W.B." Baron and his family as they fly their house to the 1877 World's Fair. The steampunk setting is new for me, and I really enjoyed it; this book would be a great way to introduce this genre to readers.

I appreciated that the book wasn’t too heavy-handed in its messages about accepting yourself and your uniqueness, despite pressures from outside/around yourself. W.B. is a relatable character, and I think many kids will see themselves in him. The humor is plentiful (the dream about rodent parents had me chuckling right off the bat) and the overall style is conversational; it makes for a story that’s enjoyable and not too difficult. I would definitely recommend this for a reader who’s looking for something new, exciting, and off the beaten path.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

W.B. And his parents, M and P, are the Barons. His parents are inventors, and they have invented a flying house and are using it to enter a race to travel across the country. Alas, at the beginning, they are kidnapped by Rose Benedict, sister to the notorious desperado, Benjamin Benedict! They are forced to take her along, win the race, and then break her brother out of jail.

However, Rose is not as mean as she wants to appear, and she ends up helping more than hurting.

Reminiscent of campy 70’s cartoons and a childhood favorite book, Railroad Arthur, I enjoyed this quick little book.

It only took me 2 months but I finally finished this book. I actually thought I would like this, the premise sounded so interesting, I've never read or heard about a book like this one, but sadly the way this was executed was not for me!

In hopes of winning the $500 prize for a race across the countyr, Waldo Baron's parents turn their house into a flying one. Their plans however are cut shoert when Rose Blackwood, sister of notorious villain Benedict Blackwood, kidnaps the family and their house to free her brother from jail. Rose, however, is not exactly who she seems. Can Waldo figure out how to save his family and keep Benedict in jail? Hilarious from start to finish, this book is filled with action-packed adventure, humor, and will delight readers. The characters are likable, entertaining, and pull the reader into the story. Fans of humor, fantasy, adventure, or who have always wanted a flying house will want to pick this book up and will eagerly want to read book 2. Recommended for any collection.

This is a funny, strange, random, odd, hilarious adventure story. Middle school boys and girls are going to be cracking up all over the place as they read this way-out-there hilarious book.

Such a cute middle-school-age book! Perfect I would say for 10+ age group, and written well for that age.

Even as an adult I enjoy reading children and teen books - especially when they are so well written that any age can read them. I could not get into this one no matter how much I tried. I found it just too simplistic and not as interesting as I thought it would be. Thank you for the opportunity to read this one.

An excellent fun and adventurous book for young readers! It was an easy read but also kept me engaged because the story was so imaginative an well written. I really look forward to sharing this with young readers and will keep an eye out for the next books in the series.

Very much enjoyed this exciting and interesting adventure.

I felt it was enjoyable, but my daughter (difficult to please) said it capture her attention quick enough, and so she did not finish.

One of the most interesting things I caught about this book was that it is set at the beginning in 1891. I love the strange dream that our main character, a male child of undeterminate age has, then what his birthday present from his parents is just made me laugh. Oh boy, the name this little boy is forced to suffer with had me shaking my head. Oh my, I could not stop laughing in the first chapter alone. Interesting to find out they're based in Arizona. That's a hoot. But, the squirrel and the prairie dog in the dream make sense now. I'm not quite sure what to make of the mother and father who love to do the strangest experiments. I suppose I really should say, inventions, not experiments. When our young man gets upset with his parents, I love their response to why they did this to their home and why they thought he'd want to go along. "This is our chance to be a part of history," said P. "And we can do it as a family." is the ultimate response he gets. What happens once the Barons get to Chicago just had me shaking my head. Oh boy. What contest does the Baron Family enter into and what happens when they do? if you want to know what happens in this lovely child friendly chapter book, you'll have to read it and see if your child will like it. It was amusing for me as an adult.

RECEIVED THIS BOOK AS A GIFT FOR A FAIR/HONEST REVIEW and REVIEWER FOR Bloggin' With M. Brennan.

This was a delightful book. Part impossible science fiction, part adventure story, but mostly madcap humor, this one could have been written by the people who invented the old Looney Tunes gag about defying the laws of gravity because they never studied law. It was just amusing and strange, the kind of book that kids would surely enjoy. It would be a great read-aloud. Thrilling adventure can be extremely funny, and this book proves it. There is a subtle lesson about giving people a chance and things not always being what they seemed laced into the narrative, but it's sub-textual. Highly recommended for children and adults with a sense of humor.

"Sometimes life is even better than a strange dream."

Complete with a lot of grumbling, childish humour and an aunt who is part egg, this middle grade book is as humorous as it gets! Examples include wacky words like 'dastardly', amazing sentences like 'Sometimes it seems like my father's cheese has slipped off his cracker' and the signature habit of the author - first suggesting something and putting a figurative device to make a clear picture in the readers' mind and then jumping to saying that it actually happened ("His hair is bright white and sticks straight up in the air as though he's just been struck by lightening. It's been that way since he was first struck by lightening seven years ago. Since then, he's been struck by lightening nineteen times. It's the darnedest thing."). Honestly, I've not found myself laughing out loud while reading middle-grade, partly because I don't read it a lot and the ones I read are pretty serious, but this book was a fun treat and I really enjoyed the nonsensical humor that it was filled with.

The characters although admittedly very mainstream were flamboyant and quirky, especially the narrator, Waldo. I liked Rose's character but her being the typical villain-with-a-heart-of-gold didn't quite stick with me and I would've liked it better if she was actually a villain and not someone who was trying really hard to pretend to be one. The use of second person from the narrator made everything more interesting, relatable, humorous and imaginable:

"Have you ever had a bee fly into your trousers? If so you've probably done my parents' happy dance."

The book was fast paced and adventurous, I'd even say that Roald Dahl's fans would enjoy this because of all the wackiness (obsessed with this word), and that says something, considering he's one of the evergreen children fiction authors ever. The plot celebrated differences in our families, parents and even ourselves as a person which was great. There were important lessons that stood out in this book like "Never underestimate your parents' achievements - they always have more to give than we can think of.", "Be yourself.", "Some times the people who we idolize and admire the most are just that - people, like the rest of us." which I think would be great for younger readers. However, at the same time I think they weren't saliently expressed and could've been better integrated in the plot.

The illustrations put me off a bit because they weren't formatted properly but oh well, we can leave that part out because that's the publisher's mistake. One thing that really bothered me on the author's part was the inconsistency in the way the 10 year old narrator spoke - one moment quirky and completely childish and then the next giving advice to Rose's character like an adult would, rather irritating.

Nevertheless, this was a short amusing read that I quite enjoyed!

I loved it! The main character was this clumsy, chubby little boy. His parents turn their house into a flying machine to win this contest, but they are kidnapped by the sister of the most ruthless criminal in America. She plans to help them win so she can steal the money and then help her brother escape.

And boom, let the adventures begin. This book is loaded with adventure and it's hilarious. I had more than one occasion where I had to read something a few times because we were all laughing so hard. That doesn't happen too often.

I love that the immediate family goes by letter abbreviations. Waldo Baron is W.B., Ma is M and Pa is P. The only time W.B. is called anything else is Wide Butt by Shorty, a girl W.B. meets in Chicago. His parents spend most of the story tied up in the control room. His dad is tied to the steering wheel and his comments are peppered with "Wheeeee!" because he loves to spin - lol.

The graphics are by Agnieszka Grochalska, a polish graphics artist. My copy messed up the pictures, but from what I could see, and it's here on the cover, she did a very nice job.

I see there's a 2nd book in the works, I really hope I can get my hands on that. Even Ivan was into this one, and he never listens to me read.

Waldo is every kid out there who has odd parents that embarrass him. In his case they're scientists who cause so much havoc with their inventions, one of which enables their house to fly. This kid would rather read about adventures than go on them but when his parents set their house afloat and enter into a nationwide scavenger hunt he has no choice but to go with the flow. Hugely hilarious and a wonderful read Waldo becomes the star in his own adventure whether he wants to or not.

This book is so funny. It is a kids book, but as an adult, I really enjoyed it. The "villain" was so lovable, which is weird for the bad guy. I would recommend this book to anyone that wants to read a fun book.

The Barons are an enchanting family of haphazard inventors and the boy who must live with them. It's not a deep story line but so enchantingly fun to read! This title should be on every library shelf and shown to every juvenile boy and girl who love to imagine on a large scale! My nine year old nephew devoured this over the weekend and kept talking about all the amazing things you could do in a "floating" house. Well done Eric, keep the titles coming!

Fun and whimsical, kids will absolutely love this book and the adventures of WB and his family. With inventors for parents, life is anything but boring.

This is a winner all the way around. There is adventure as well as morals to be taught. Great addition to an elementary school library and a good idea as a class read aloud book. This book will keep the reader engaged and entertained.

I read this aloud to my younger kids each night for a week and they were HOOKED. Imaginative, clever, and hilarious at times. Bravo!