Member Reviews
W.B., general klutz and son of inventors, makes friends with the new kid at school, B.W. They get to know each other and go to the fair together. W.B.’s friend and his parents’ assistant Rose is put in jail after her entry to the pie contest explodes. Then while on a walk, W.B. is hit over the head and put on a train traveling across the country. When he returns home to Arizona, he discovers that he’s already there! Someone has used his parents’ Doppelgänger Device to turn themselves into his clone, so W.B. is going to have to figure out how to prove to his family that he’s the real deal.
This was a fun kids book with lots of humor, adventure, and mystery. It’s the third in the series, but it was easy to jump in and understand even though it was my first. W.B. is an entertaining narrator and main character, although the way he jumps around or gets distracted does get confusing sometimes. But mostly, it made me chuckle. Definitely a good one for young kids. Thanks to NetGalley for the free ebook.
All of the books in this series are delightful, but I think this one does the best job with character development. While we've gotten to know W.B. throughout the other two books, this one gives us the chance to learn more about some of the secondary characters.
This is such a refreshing book! I really loved it! It's full of adventure and fun. It's clean and contains, as the title suggests, a doppelganger device. Oh, the problems you could have with this device! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I'd love to read more ore them!
My copy came from Net Galley. My thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is left of my own free volition.
"The Wonderful Baron Doppelganger Device" by Eric Bower is a fun, yet confusing read. The story focuses on W.B., a clumsy, yet insightful young boy who is not known for his intelligence. W.B. gets into a huge mess when someone clones him and steals his identity. The story moves along really well for the most part and keeps the readers attention. The book, however, does have an issue. Names in the book are too similar (which I understand is part of the point) but when you're following along it gets really confusing as to which character is speaking. Is that W,B, or his friend, B.W.? Even characters that he meets along the way have similar names or the same name! At one point in the story two men he meets have the exact same name only delineated by the fact that one is called Also. Trying to figure out which character is actually speaking would be very hard for some student readers. It slows the story down for those who struggle identifying characters and their voice. Otherwise its a great read for people of all ages.
**I received a digital copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
The Bizarre Baron Inventions #3 is here! And we couldn't have been more excited. In fact, when I told my oldest I had it, we stopped what we were reading and started on it right away. These books are just fun! They are so silly, and even my youngest stops and listens. He even asked me to read it to him when he was sick!
So yes, this was just as silly and just as much fun. I really can't wait for the next one!
"When someone gets ahold of the Barons’ Wonderful Doppelgänger Device, which allows them to transform into anyone, they use it to land Rose in jail by posing as her to cause a small explosion during the Pitchfork Fair. The dastardly villain then ambushes W.B. and abducts him onto a train bound for the other side of the country. With W.B. out of the way, the imposter replaces him until W.B. returns unexpectedly and exposes the plot. Unfortunately, the deadly duplicate is great at impersonation. To save his skin, W.B. must prove himself by W.B.ing harder than he’s ever W.B.ed before."
Do you have a child who loves to read or one that just needs to find the right book to fall in love with reading? This book might be the one! Waldo Barron, or W.B. as he likes to be called has inventive, smart parents; he on the other hand falls out of windows and bounces down roads, he is different. Although he isn’t too different than the rest of his wacky family. This book is an adventure within a mystery.
The Wonderful Baron Doppelganer Device is the 3rd volume in the Bizarre Baron Inventions Series. Eric Bower creates a world full of wholesome, entertaining, who-done-it fun, and throws in a hidden lesson to be learned within this adventurous book. I especially loved reading W.B.’s narrative. He fits my “childlike” mind of wackiness and I laughed so much while traveling with him.
The print illustrations are clean, inventive and add to the creation of the characters. Seeing Mrs. Twitchell was a real treat. Out of all the characters we meet, I might have to spill the beans and say, I love WB the best, well until he isn’t himself. Read the book, you’ll see what I mean.
A child up to 12 years old will enjoy this book. The reading level is good for 2nd grade and up. This book would also make a great bedtime story read to older children. Younger kids might get a kick out of Mr. Baron’s horse. This book is just pure, clean fun!
You can pre-order this book on Amazon or Barnes and Noble, unless like me you like to go the Indie route and buy at your favorite local book haunt.
I received this book from Amberjack Publishing Company via NetGalley in lieu of my honest review.
Waldo Baron, W.B. to his family, has two scientists for parents, and they have a workroom attached to their house out in Arizona Territory. He also has a teacher who seems to think students should spend all their time giving oral reports. The bad news for W.B. is that his teacher thinks everything in his reports is from his imagination rather than facts. Can he help it if his parents drag him along in a coast-to-coast flying contest or undersea to look for lost pirate treasure? So he spends a lot of time sitting in the corner and wearing the dunce cap, with the other kids making fun of him. When a new kid comes to town and actually wants to be friends, W.B. can't believe his luck. Readers don't know all of this at the beginning of the book because W.B. starts at the end of the story with an evil twin holding him at gunpoint on the edge of a cliff. When he realizes that his audience probably doesn't understand why he is in that particular situation, he goes back to the beginning of the adventure and starts again.
Filled with eccentric characters, a horse named Geoffrey, exploding pies, and a best friend who affectionately calls him "Wide Butt," W.B.'s life is rather eccentric and one can easily see why his teacher doubts the veracity of his reports. Waldo is an entertaining narrator who cheerfully admits that when his parents start talking about science, 'my brain refuses to listen. It will shut off and play loud, wacky music, usually with a lot of funny sounding horns and an off-key piano." He also comes up with funny observations about life, like "never trust a doctor who sells used shoes on the weekend." Since he is easily distracted by food and doesn't have a lot of experience with other children outside the classroom, he is not sure if his friend Shorty is simply jealous of the new boy from class, or if it is normal for friends to be suspicious of each other at first. Waldo does get the feeling that someone is watching him, but he has hit his head so many times his parents aren't sure if it is paranoia or someone actually spying on the family.
If you enjoy humorous stories with lots of action, clever horses, a cutthroat baking contest, and hobos singing "Camptown Ladies," then pick up this book. Until you read it, you can't imagine all the zany events and characters. And you'll never know why that pie exploded or who the evil twin really is. How will you be able to sleep with questions like that unanswered?
I recieved a free digital copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.
This is the third in the series and my first book from this author.
W.B.'s family is abdolutely wacky and hilarious. There's a wicked villain, crazy inventions and funny scenarios through this well written book. I'd recommend this book to any middle-schooler who loves an adventure!
This is a really fun book, that makes you smile over and over again as you read it. It features a loving but wacky family, a likable yet greedy hero, a hilarious teacher, a dastardly villain and lots of crazy situations. On a more serious level, it's about sticking up for your family when they are in trouble. I'm looking forward to sharing this with my nine year old.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this in exchange for my honest review.