NEW-Layla And The Bots #01 Happy Paws

Layla and the Bots #1

by Vicky Fang

Brand New Deliver In 6-18 Working Days

Genres: Chapter Books, Graphic Novels, Childrens, Robots, Juvenile, Science Fiction, Dogs

80 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 2020

About the author

Vicky Fang is the author of the Layla and the Bots chapter books series, the Best Buddies early reader series, the I Can Code board book series, and the picture book Invent-a-Pet. She is the author-illustrator of Friendbots, AlphaBot, and the forthcoming Ava Lin and One Mad Cat series. A former Google product designer, she now writes and illustrates children’s books full-time. Vicky Fang lives in California. You can learn more at vickyfang.com.

Reviews

[Bookishrealm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm finally stepping into the world of easy readers! I know that the branches books are books that a lot of parents enjoy; however, it's taken me a while to get to one. Thankfully, I knew where to start and decided to pick up the first book in the Layla and the Bots series and it did not disappoint.

Happy Paws is the first book in this early readers series that follows Layla and her robots as they attempt to save a local theme park. Readers get to immerse themselves into some fun illustrations as well as easy to follow text while Layla and the robots develop a fun and interesting STEM-based plan.

What Worked: The illustrations in this one were really fun. I'm not exactly sure what I expected, but for 80 pages, I can genuinely say that I was fully immersed in the story. Layla works hard with her robot friends to develop and sketch out plans to help save this local theme park. It introduces some fun STEM elements that will help younger readers know the right steps to create their own projects. Even as a reader that's not necessarily interested in STEM, I found myself interested in the research and elements that it took for Layla and the bots to be successful.

Overall, I think is is a great transitional text for readers ages 5-7. The story and illustrations will definitely keep them invested in the series.

[Phobean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This adorable "easy reader" book is a sneaky introduction to project management and urban planning, with puppies. It features a rockstar and her robots. Need I say more? APPROVE.

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic story of a little girl, Layla, who, when she’s not busy with her rock band, tackles huge problems with the help of her bots (who she built). This time around they’re solving the mystery of where all the amusement park attendees went and how to redesign rides to accommodate pets. Lots of fun, but also goes through each step of the process. Loved it!

[Lata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enterprising and inventive Layla saves a local amusement park from closure by creating fun games and rides for the park’s doggie daycare, in a bid to convince dog owners to frequent the park again.
The illustrations are charming and I like Layla’s can-do spirit.

[Lena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book through the wakelet article Ready, Set, Sci-fi! Books that bring the realm of SFF to transitional readers by Robbin Friedman Feb 23, 2021. This book is great to introduce to transitional readers. It introduces them to a series that they can continue to read independently while building their reading skills.

Layla is a young black inventor and rock star. In this first book, she and her robots find a solution for their neighborhood dogs when the old amusement park in town is going to be shut down. Layla has seen how bored the dogs in doggie daycare are and she wants to do something about it. There’s also a great stem challenge at the end of the book and critical thinking questions. This book is perfect for doing within a guided reading group in 2nd or 3rd grade of readers who are ready to start reading longer books more independently.

I accessed this book through Youtube. The video showed the whole page so that readers can see the entire illustration - especially important for a graphic novel. You can find Part 1 here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkxC9Ek0J8Y and Part 2 here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUWH4A14BIs.

[Melanie Ellsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Share this book with the young maker in your family and join Layla and her bots in celebrating imagination and building! With her persistence and “huge and wild ideas,” Layla is a terrific role model and a great friend to her funny, aptly-named bots. The chapter headings are funny and enticing, so we want to find out what happens next. STEAM elements are incorporated seamlessly into the book as Layla and her bots use math, brainstorm, sketch out ideas, make music together, do research in the dog park, build, and then revise and rebuild. Children will be inspired by Layla’s out-of-the-box ideas for the dog park and will undoubtedly come up with a few of their own! They can also build their own robots using the guided activity at the end of the book. Happy Paws: Layla and the Bots inspires readers to let their imaginations soar and then to follow through and make those ideas real.

[Ellon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Checked this out because it's part of Battle of the Books jr. I'm not a dog person so I'm slightly biased against the book. I think the premise is kind of dumb (the amusement park closing because people don't want to leave their dogs...) but I do like how they solve the problem. First they do research, they brainstorm, and they talk to others and refine their ideas. The solution involves lots of creativity and coding. So I definitely like that part of the book. The whole thing about her robots and her having a band is weird though, I wish the reason they discovered the problem with the park was different but perhaps the band will reappear in other books in the series. Definitely a worthwhile early chapter book/graphic novel (I'm torn because there are some graphic novel elements like speech bubbles but it just doesn't seem like a graphic novel).

[J.D. Holman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book to a couple of my lower elementary classes this spring. I rather liked it, though it didn't inspire conversations like Dinosaurs Before Dark did, or result in mass checkouts of the series, like Pug Blasts Off did, for the same classes.

I wonder if they would like it more if I changed the shelving of it from chapter books to graphic novels. It relies on speech bubbles and tells the story through pictures. (Well, I just convinced myself, haha.)

[Lindsay Metcalf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would have LOVED this book as an early reader. You have a female rock star who saves her town's amusement park by inventing attractions that include dogs. Deceptively simple illustrations and language convey emotion and tension to pull readers through to the end, where they'll find prompts to create their own inventions. In kid-friendly language, the characters solve problems by conducting market research, brainstorming, holding focus groups, building, coding and teamwork. Along the way they experience self-doubt and hiccups, but Layla leads the team through quick problem-solving to save the day. Can't wait for the next three installments of this adorable new series from Scholastic Branches.

[A.J. Irving · Rating 5 out of 5]

Layla, Beep, Boop, and Bop are inventors and rock stars. Their upcoming show at the amusement park is canceled because business is too slow. When the park owner decides to close the park for good, Layla and the bots set off to investigate. They discover everyone is spending time at the dog park instead. Layla and the bots come up with a brilliant plan to save the park and their show. They invent rides for dogs! LAYLA AND THE BOTS: HAPPY PAWS by Vicky Fang and Christine Nishiyama is a fantastic early chapter book. STEM! Girl power! The inventions are creative. The illustrations are adorable. And the end of the book includes directions to build your own roller coaster. I can’t wait to read the rest of this series!

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Layla and her three bots find out that Happy Days amusement park is going to close. They are very sad and decide to research where people in the community are going instead, and then come up with ideas to save the park.

The storyline in this basically walks kids through product development without ever saying that's what is being done. They research the problem, get ideas, test their ideas with people, revise their ideas, go to development, and then fix more problems that come up once it comes time for safety approval. The text is minimal, but there are some higher vocab words used for the target audience. A cute little graphic novel about problem solving featuring a musical/inventor heroine of color and her robot pals.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Layla is an inventor and a rock band leader. Her band members are her bots who also code and build inventions with Layla. They have an upcoming rock concert at the amusement park, but it suddenly gets cancelled because no one is coming to the park anymore. Why?

Layla goes and finds out what people are doing instead and why. She actively gets to problem solving by hypothesizing, coming up with a solution, getting feedback from their target group, and executes their idea. On the verge of giving up when they encounter a last minute problem, Layla puts her coding skills to work to save the day.

I really enjoyed seeing Layla actively problem solve. The entire process of finding a solution is a great example for kids to read about in this fun graphic novel form.

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have young inventors in your house or classroom? Happy Paws is such a brilliant book for teaching K-2 the NGSS engineering design process from start to finish. When Layla and her inventive bot friends find out the local amusement park is shutting down, they harness the power of creative thinking and invention to save it. From research, idea generation, gathering feedback, building, and testing, Fang and Nishiyama's book shows that invention is all about tweaking, testing, and not giving up. Backmatter includes instructions for building your own roller coaster. This is a great book to help kids learn engineering and invention.

[Connie T. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Layla, a young brown-skinned girl, and her 3 bots are supposed to be a rock band but, in this story, they spend most of their time saving an amusement park from shutting down. To do this, they problem solve: why is the park closing, what is causing this problem, and how can it be fixed. The whole situation is totally unrealistic but provides children with a real world example that they can relate to.

This early chapter book is so heavily illustrated some might consider it a graphic novel, especially since the dialog is in speech bubbles. Build your own roller coaster instructions are included.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beginner chapter book that is more graphic novel style. Occasional explanatory sentences, but most text is in speech bubbles.

Layla built some robot friends and started a world-famous band with them. But they mostly play at a local amusement park. Except the park is closing down due to low attendance. So Layla and the bots investigate then use their STEM powers to solve the problem.

Meh not my favorite. But I would still recommend.
Part of the Branches series, so some good comprehension question at the end.

[H · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s a dearth of high quality early readers chapter books with good values and clean fun. It seems like most books have an obnoxious or cynical protagonist who hates their siblings and loves to do mean tricks or look down on people. It’s a breath of fresh air when I find a book like this- great story, good values (persistence, problem solving), nice characters, etc. I didn’t love the part where the protagonist assured someone that she “got this” even though she didn’t know whether she could pull it off. Otherwise, great book!

[Annie Dee Reads Romance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very sweet early chapter book series from the Branches part of Scholastic, best for kids in K-3. Perfect for kids who are just starting to read independently, along the lines of the Diary of a Pug and Dav Pilkey's Dragon series.

Layla and the Bots work together to solve problems (in this case a failing amusement park). The author has seamlessly incorporated STEM concepts into these short chapter books. Chapters are short and easy to follow. The illustrations are colorful and eye-catching.

Highly recommend!

[Ann Snuggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun problem-solving adventure

Layla and the Bots, Beep, Boop and Bop, are cute characters working hard in a story of problem solving. Their happy band can’t perform if the park closes so it’s up to them to figure out what’s wrong and fix it in five days. Charming illustrations jump from the pages to bring the Bots and Layla to life and make the amusement park something the readers want to stay open. Grab an introduction to these new friends.

[Diana Nabin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The genre of Happy Paws (Layla and the Bots #1) is fiction. This book has no awards. In this book a amusement park is shutting down and Layla and the bots are here to fix that. They build an amusement park for doggies. I like the problem solving in this book and the way the characters think. I like the creative illustration used in the book. Another thing is the idea of the Doggy Amusement Park, it is very creative and it actually is a very good idea to attract people.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Layla is a musician and an inventor. Can she save the amusement park before her concert? With the help of her robots, they figure out the problem, research, brainstorm, build, get feedback, and fix. The high interest story overlays the process nicely. Similar to the "Zoe and Sassafrass" books, this isn't an #ownvoices book, but it features confident scientifically-minded black girls in the lead. Simple computer art with strong black outlines serve the story, but don't advance it on their own.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this up because it’s part of Scholastic’s #Branches series- but cannot believe how much fun it is! A rock band, an amusement park, building, coding, inventing, and a town that LOVES DOGS SO MUCH, they’ll combine all of these things to create a place to visit that’s as fun for pets as it is for people!

What’s not to love?

[Bethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a cute beginning chapter book with a full color graphic novel feel. Would’ve loved this as a young girl - a rock star with robots she made, each with their own personality. And don’t forget the dogs - a border collie with a frisbee! Love the design and build section at the end, don’t think the reading comp questions that follow are necessary. Can’t wait to read more!

[Kylie Combs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun way to add some STEAM/STEM into a book without it being the only focus or theme of the entire book. I love the Branches books for emerging readers! Layla and her bots aren't just great problem solvers, they're also great friends, innovative community members, and rock stars! What else could you want (also there are puppies!)? All around it just made me happy too!

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happy Paws is a cute chapter book by Vicky Fang and illustrated by Christine Nishiyama. It is appropriate for second graders or older kids not reading on grade level. It is divided into 9 chapters and a page of review questions. I think the story will be appealing to beginning readers. Luckily, there are three other Layla and the Bots books in this series. I enjoyed the book.

[Nicola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Layla likes STEM, dogs, and music; she can code, sing, and come up with great inventions.

Miss 7 and I like to explore different books and authors at the library, sometimes around particular topics or themes. We try to get different ones out every week or so; it's fun for both of us to have the variety and to look at a mix of new & favourite authors.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an adorable graphic fiction hybrid that is great for early readers transitioning into chapter books. Layla is smart, caring, and quite plucky. There's a great STEM-theme combined with robot sidekicks who provide a ton of humor.

[Marcie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great new STEAM series. Kids will enjoy and author has lots of links for activities and educational reinforcement. I read the second in the series first and don't see a problem not reading them in order.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Layla is a rockstar with robots. She and her team work together to solve a problem and help a struggling community business succeed. This adorable early chapter book has a wonderful STEAM focus for kids.

[Margaret Boling · Rating 4 out of 5]

2/14/2021 ~ A solid addition to Scholastic's Branches line of transitional chapter books. One quibble - no mention of the cost of building these cool puppy amusement park rides. The inclusion of user feedback and the safety inspector were a nice touch.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really adorable tale of a girl and her robot rock band who save their favorite childhood amusement park. Part detective story (why did the park close?), part scientific method story, and part feel-good problem-solving story. Plus tons of cute dogs.