This is marketed as a Middle School age book; I believe it will appeal to a much younger audience than that.
This was a weird little book that I literally read in 2 1/2 hours. Because it was from NetGalley and therefore an ARC, it had really crappy formatting [that I hope didn't make it into the actual Kindle version that is being released now]. It also has pictures in it; not that you can tell what any of them actually are in this version. It was mostly just pages of one or part of one image [between one and eight pages per set of pictures]. Again, I hope that this isn't how the Kindle books that are being sold are like as well because it was very frustrating and annoying to be honest. You never really knew what the pictures where trying to convey.

The story is just okay - a young boy [in the "Old West" days] who is quite possibly the clumsiest boy in the universe and who doesn't understand [or really try to understand] his scientific inventing parents, wakes up one day to find the house flying across the United States. That starts the adventure for the Baron Family. And what could have been a seriously cute book about adventure turned into a weird book that was filled with whining and clumsiness and a lot of weird awkwardness that made it a struggle to finish.

I would not buy this book for my middle-schoolers, nor do I think I would buy it for the younger set as well. What could of been a good story ends up really almost insulting the readers intelligence and belief in a fantasy world. I was VERY disappointed.

I was less than a quarter of the way done with the book before I bought a copy for myself to read to my son. I'm also going to get a copy for my nephews. It is very funny. My favorite joke throughout the book is how no one understands time zones. The time period was perfect too. I feel like had it been a modern day setting the story would not have been believable.

This is such a fun, adorable, and hilarious little novel. It is an extremely quirky adventure on a crazy flying machine, filled with ruthless bandits, insane inventors, and quite possibly the clumsiest kid in the world. While it is an incredibly over-the-top and outlandish story, I personally loved the randomness and absurdity of these characters’ journey. Every aspect of this novel is charming, having an overall atmosphere of warmth, family, and love. Though I am far from the target age-range of the intended audience for this book, I still had a fantastic time reading it—I could hardly keep a smile off my face.

In this novel, we follow a young boy named Waldo “W.B.” Baron as he wakes up one day to find out that his crazy inventor parents have renovated their house into a flying home. They plan to enter a competition where they are meant to fly around 1890’s North America on a scavenger hunt—the first people to return with every item on the list will win five-hundred dollars.

However, their plans take a twist when Rose Blackwood, the sister of the country’s most notorious criminal, sneaks aboard their flying house and holds W.B. and his family hostage. Her plan? To complete the race with the Baron family, then rob them of the prize in order to break her brother, Benedict Blackwood, out of jail. But, Rose Blackwood turns out to be much different than W.B. expected, and soon, relationships change and unexpected alliances form as they flounder through one outrageous event after another.

I absolutely flew through this novel, and not only because of its length—with nonstop action, there was not a single moment that dragged along. The readability as well as the weirdness of this story are really what pulled me in. There is a twinge of childishness to it, which is to be expected from a middle grade novel, but personally as an adult, this did not deter me in any way.

Bower’s characters were a fantastic part of this novel. W.B. was loveably dorky and clumsy, and someone you can’t help but root for. His parents are welcoming and kindhearted, and unabashedly goofy, but also highly intelligent scientists. Rose Blackwood was easily the most complex and interesting character in the whole story—and she has quite a bit in common with W.B. They both feel like outcasts in their own lives, in their families, and are struggling to assimilate. But along the way, they both learn their significance and where they fit in the world, as well as how to love themselves, faults and all.

This novel felt very jumbled, which many times negatively impacts a story—however, in this case, that was not necessarily true. Each individual event that occurs all come together in one nonsensical escapade—and honestly, it works, at least it did in my experience. It adds to the craziness and quirkiness of the characters and how they handle the obstacles that are thrown their way. Much of the humor comes from this element of as well—from both how utterly random and out-of-the-blue every event is, to how the characters flounder around on their way through each stage of the challenge.

This is a novel that readers will only enjoy if they suspend their disbelief and just immerse themselves in the unique world of W.B. and his gang. There are parts that become a bit repetitive, and certain scenes feel like they are rushed through much too quickly, but these are really just signs of the genre and length of the novel. That is one of the reasons I found this to be one of those middle grade books that is going to primarily garner a younger following rather than a much more universal one.

As for the actual writing itself, I really liked Bower’s style. His writing flowed very well and carried the story along at a fast yet easy to follow pace. Bower’s humor was wonderful and absolutely perfect for a middle grade novel. There is a very child-like feel to this story overall that makes it, as I said, something that is a bit less of a multi-generational read than some other middle grade stories.

This primarily focuses on being a novel for a younger audience. However, I do think that it can be fun for both children and those who are children at heart. It is a novel that anyone of any age can fall right in to and love every second of. With plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and heartwarming relationships, it’s hard not to become invested in the lives and escapades of these characters.

It is a big-hearted story of learning to accept both who you and the people in your life are. It is about learning to hold your own, be happy with yourself—inside and out—and finding out where you fit into the great puzzle that is life. Though the eccentricity of the plot might not strike the right chord with everyone, I would wholeheartedly recommend giving this story a try.

This was ok - wasn't really my sort of kids story, but I can see that it might really work for some children. Well written and an interesting idea, but just didn't float my boat.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review, which has not altered my opinion.

This book is the epitome of strangeness and randomness that made complete sense to me. Parts of this book were confusing simply because it was so strangely humored, but once used to the way it is written, it is really very much amusing! The small drawings were adorable and made the imagery even better.
While the storyline is predicting, it was absolutely ridiculous and adorable. I enjoyed this book but it's difficult to recommend because I feel as though it should be one of those LEGO movies, that is precisely what the writing reminds me of. The characters are eccentric and so different from what you might think. Though it does take a little bit to get into simply because of the humor.
I highly recommend this for fans of the LEGO movie and for humor of that sort! It's quite amusing and made me smile after a long day.

W.B. woke up one Saturday morning to discover that his inventor parents turned their house into a flying machine and his plans for the afternoon are dashed. It is 1891, after all, and living in Pitchfork, in the Arizona territory, means that W.B. gets to see Sheriff Hoyt Graham in person. He's already read all the adventure books written about Sheriff Graham and all the villains he's put in jail, so getting to see the sheriff in person would just make W.B. so happy. But now he is flying to Chicago in his house. 

W.B. (short for Waldo Baron) finds out from his parents that they're heading for Chicago, to the Exposition Fairgrounds, where they will begin a scavenger hunt around the country to win the prize of $500. 

The Baron family makes it to the fairgrounds okay, but their adventure takes a turn when they get kidnapped by Rose Blackwood, who commandeers their flying house to win the prize money to get her brother, the nefarious Benedict Blackwood, out of jail. 

But things aren't always as they seem in this quirky, clever story of family, heroes, villains, adventure, and dreams of talking squirrels. If you have a middle grader in need of some anachronistic, fantastic fun this summer, then you should definitely check out Eric Bower's The Magnificent Flying Baron Estate. 



Galleys for The Magnificent Flying Baron Estate were provided by the publisher through NetGalley.com.

Imagine an adventure that has deputies and outlaws, scientists and amazing inventions, and a cross-country flying scavenger hunt. That will put you somewhere in the neighborhood of <i>The Magnificent Flying Baron Estate</i>. Waldo Baron, W.B. to his family, narrates the story of his family and their incredible flying (not floating), house. Waldo has two scientists for parents, and they decide to enter a contest to invent a unique flying vehicle so that they can use the prize money to hire an assistant. W.B. is not impressed with this idea for various reasons, but he doesn't have much choice as the house lifts off and flies to Chicago for the start of the contest.

Filled with eccentric characters, wild pigs, baked beans, and dreams about talking squirrels, this book is never dull. Waldo is an entertaining narrator who shares his puzzlement over his parents and their theories, his admiration for the exploits of Sheriff Hoyt Graham, and even the extremes of his own clumsiness (getting poked in the eye by a cuckoo in a clock, for example). As I read, I pictured his father looking much like Doc Brown from "Back to the Future" and the house floating along like the one in "Up," but without the balloons.

If you enjoy humorous stories with lots of action, falling into mud pits, contests to see who has the smelliest socks, and a villain with "two very large revolvers strapped to his sides, as well as six knives buckled to his boots, a bow an arrow over his shoulder, a crossbow on his back, a sword sheathed at his thigh, a lasso around his waist, a slingshot in his back pocket, a tomahawk in his long underwear..." then pick up this book. You'll fly through it even more quickly than the Baron Estate flies through the air.

I read an ebook provided by the publishers through NetGalley.

I enjoyed this book! I felt like it was fast paced! Adventurous

"Magnus was a very sensible horse. In fact, he was probably the most sensible creature in the Baron Estate. Often, when my father would try to use Magnus in his experiments (like when he place electric horseshoes on his hooves to make him run faster, or the time he tried to attach a propeller to Magnus's backside to turn him into what he called a horse-e-copter), our horse would give him a look that seemed to say, 'Are you utterly insane? I am a horse. A horse! Just let me be a horse, for goodness' sake.' " - This is just one of the many gems from this wonderful novel.


A young boy wakes up after a dream about a talking squirrel to an equally strange occurrence, his house is flying. Waldo Baron's, W.B. for short, parents are inventors who have decided to enter into a contest with their house. The contest is for a $500 dollar prize which they want to use for an assistant. Their plans get messed up though when Rose Blackwood kidnaps them hoping to use the prize money to get her notorious villain brother out of prison. Along the way Waldo has to use his brain and slowly seems to become friends with his captor. Rose though does not seem to be as bad as he expected.

This is the first book in a series that I will be continuing. I am so glad that I got the chance to read this book. It was so funny throughout. I cannot tell you how many times that I literally laughed out loud. This is a middle grade book and I know that many people believe that they are not worth a read. I will tell you right now that I am not one of those people. Read this book. It was so very funny and enjoyable. I cannot wait to read the next book whenever it comes out. The characters were intelligent and made me invested in their story. It was also interesting to read about this time period. It took place in 1891. W.B. may be a klutz but gosh it was so enjoyable watching him try to save the day or at least solve their problems.

I cannot wait to get a copy of this for myself.

This is a middle-grade book intended for kids 9-12, but when I saw the cute cover and description I couldn’t resist. This is an old western meets a bedtime story. 1891, Waldo ‘W.B.’ Baron is living with his cooky mad-scientists parents in the Arizona territory. He’s more interested in reading western gunslinger novels than science but when his parents turn their house into a flying ship for a contest, his life changes a bit!

"But on that very morning, when I looked out my bedroom window, I did not see the quiet desert or the hills that lead to Pitchfork. In fact, I saw nothing but blue. Blue and more blue, surrounding a lot of bluish blue with bluey blueness…the Baron Estate was floating in the sky like a hot air balloon."

With his weird Aunt Dorca, a friend named Shorty and a strange woman on a bicycle the plot goes from strange to stranger! This is a story about adventure, family and acceptance. Although I don’t think the writing was much to write home about, the plot was quirky and I could see the appeal to the demographic.

"And, well… I wanted you to know that just because your family doesn’t understand and appreciate you, that doesn’t mean that nobody will ever understand and appreciate you. You might not have found where you belong yet, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t belong somewhere."

I would definitely buy this for my seven year old niece, it would be a whimsical read-along story, for sure. The corny jokes and the strange plot holes wouldn’t bother her a bit.

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

Three stars.

Expected Publication Date: May 16, 2017

I am usually quite the fan of middle grade and young adult books. First, because I enjoy fantasy, and so many of them have fantastic elements. But second, and more importantly, because when writing for children, authors cannot fall back on as many tropes in order to generate action/interest. The graphic violence and sexual explicitness that so many adult authors rely on to (they think) make their stories pop or speed up the pacing, aren't present in books aimed at younger readers. Which means that the authors who write for younger audiences can't rely on props to aid their flagging stories - they need to write cleaner, stronger stories that have action without gratuitous "help" from the crutches of sex and violence.

I said usually.

Unfortunately, this is an instance where the exception proves the rule. NOT to say, AT ALL, that there's anything gratuitously violent or sexual here, since there 100% is not. Rather, to say that there is very little of the "cleaner, stronger story" about it...

The concept is fun and cute - a regular boy with crazy inventor parents finds himself embroiled in their adventure, which ultimately becomes his adventure, when they turn the family home into a flying machine to enter a round-the-world contest. Oh, yes, and lest I forget - this all happens in the late 1800s. Sounds cute and clever and full of potential, right? I certainly thought so. Unfortunately, the "villain" turns out to be the most interesting character - and that's not saying as much as it sounds like, because even she's not all that interesting.

The quirky parents are stereotypically so. So is the regularity of the regular boy. Even the villain-with-a-heart-of-gold is straight out of the wikipedia definition of a character archetype. And the story packed around them is not really any more unusual or action-packed than they, themselves... I saw a GoodReads comment about this one, suggesting that if the book had been written from Rose's (the so-called "villain" of the piece) point of view, it would have been much more interesting. I'm inclined to agree - although not sure if even that would have been enough to bring it into the realm of a great children's story. It moved way too slowly for that. It's not a long book, but I felt like I was reading it forever - it just never hit its stride...

My children liked this book but not enough to ask to stay up to read, which is how I can determine how into it they were

W.B. is smart and brave even though at first he doesn't know it. He thinks he doesn't fit in his family as he is too stupid and clumsy but is shown otherwise by his kidnapper, Rose. Wacky races and unscrupulous villains complete the storyline of this very quirky and enjoyable book.

A fun and very quick story, will likely appeal to young readers who don't think of themselves as readers. Some of the "be yourself" and "you really do fit somewhere" messages get a bit diluted in the confusion of whether the person who brings an armed kidnapper to justice is actually in the wrong, but there are plenty of silly town names and rushed adventures to keep the interest of the intended audience.

This is not, however, a book that older readers or parents will get much joy from. Some books for young readers can be enjoyed just as much by someone reading it to them at bedtime, this is not going to be one of them.

Illustrations in my version were formatted incorrectly, I can't review them at all.

I found this book to be very compelling with interesting characters and an engaging plot.

The Magnificent Flying Baron Estate is a fantastic, quirky adventure with flamboyant characters. Not only is it funny, but it is an immersion into a wacky universe where a house can fly (not float!), a father repeatedly gets hit by lightning but somehow miraculously recovers without a scratch (except for a mad scientist-style hairdo), and a wannabe criminal kidnaps a whole family but still really cares about politeness, among other amusing incongruities.

It is a fast-paced book that kids (and young-ish adults) will surely enjoy. It made me think of the nonsensical crazy world of Alice in Wonderland. Going from one oddity to another, you eventually get suck in this wonderfully nutty intrigue.

It’s imaginative, funny, quirky and entertaining. I literally couldn’t put it down and read it within a few hours. I very much enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

Cute middle grade book, so funny and interesting. It appeals mainly to kids though hence the three stars but I enjoyed it nonetheless!

The Magnificent Flying Baron Estate is such a fun read. At first I have a bit reservation since it started so weird and I am not sure if I'll like it. Good thing it picks up after the weird start and turned out better than I expected. It is a funny book with a lot of adventures and a bit of illustrations which I'm sure kids will enjoy.

Quirky with a capital Q and totally going to be in my books I take to Middle School libraries in the next year. There is a normal but clumsy main character with bizarre parents and aunt, a polite kidnapper and travel in a flying house - what more could you possibly want? Oh and the dream scenes are a total laugh! A fun read that will have kids using their imagination as well as just enjoying the speed of the changing scenes and adventures.