Heads up, DOG MAN lovers! Watch out, readers of BAD GUYS! Robotic dog AWESOME DOG 5000 is in the neighborhood and he's. . . well, he's awesome.
Marty, Ralph, and Skyler might make the ultimate secret combo when battling alien-slime ninjas in their favorite video game, but in real life they're just regular kids. That is, until the three best friends discover Awesome Dog 5000, a robotic dog with very real power-ups. Awesome Dog can "bark" a sonic boom, "walk" at speeds over three hundred miles per hour, and "fetch" with an atomic cannon. Life for Marty, Ralph, and Skyler just got a major turbo-boost!
Attention, readers! AWESOME DOG 5000 is a wild action-comedy told through a mix of text and black-and-white illustrations, with a mystery to solve at the end. Can you handle the awesomeness?
Justin Dean is an award-winning writer-illustrator who has made stuff for commercials, movie trailers, animated shorts, video games, and now books. When he's not thinking up bizarro and funny stories he teaches creative writing to kids. Justin grew up in a small town in Oklahoma and now lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children. Awesome Dog 5000 is his first book series.
Awesome Dog 5000 by Justin Dean is a new series geared toward fans of Dog Man. This was enough to catch my eight-year-old son’s interest since he is a HUGE fan of Dog Man! He and I read this story together and it successfully broke us out of the reading slump we’ve been in.
The story stars Marty Fontana who has just moved into a new house and has to start 5th grade in a brand new school. My son really connected with Marty’s first day nerves and we were both rooting for him right away.
His first day doesn’t go well (for starters he gets tongue twisted and introduces himself as Farty Montana instead of Marty Fontana) but he ends up making a couple other “reject” friends at least, joining their club called “The Zeroes.”
Back at his new house, the three of them end up finding a robot dog that has been left behind by the previous owner (who was an electric toothbrush inventor.) This is where the story gets even more interesting and really takes off. Marty reminds us that this is the part of the story with “Rocket Jets, an Evil Dude, and a Rescue Mission.”
This book is a laugh-out-loud delight. My son and I had to put down the book several times just to laugh it out. We also enjoyed all the detailed illustrations and the funny and outrageous characters.
This was a five star read for us and we can’t wait for the next book in the series.
This book is hilarious!! I literally laughed through pretty much the whole book. (My mom can attest to this, as she was sitting next to me when I read it. I kept stopping to read her funny quotes.) There were also cute little footnotes like this one:
Book safety disclaimer: This dangerous trick should only be attempted by professionally trained stunt babies.
I mean, if a book needs disclaimers like that, you have to know some amusing stuff is happening. There were a few of the typical fart jokes and butt jokes (those aren't my favorite), but they were overwhelmed by the just pure funny stuff, so I give it a pass for that (and, honestly, the kids that this book is aimed at will love it all the more for them). The illustrations are also fantastic, and there's a fun challenge at the end of the book involving the illustrations that I won't describe (because it would actually be a spoiler). Basically, I loved this book! Obviously, it's not one of those deep and meaningful stories that will stick with you forever (though actually, there is a bit of a moral at the end that's added in quite nicely), but it's pure and utter enjoyment, and for this "genre" (if you can call it that---I don't know, middle-grade silly humor superhero adventure?), it's perfection!
(I'm now handing it over to my son, who is super excited to read it after hearing just a few of the quotes.)
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
I’m on the fence with this book. The writing is reminiscent of a 3rd or 4th grader — little character development or details, lots of events and low on plot, no substance, etc. Most chapters are an isolated problem with a quick, almost magical, resolution. However, the story is reminiscent of Dog Man, Captain Underpants, and the like. The kids will enjoy the book, but I don’t expect them to learn anything from reading it.
This was pretty funny and a good start to a new series, but I didn't love that the villain's name was Dr. Crazybrains. Change that name and I'm on-board for the series, but that moniker is an issue for me.
Awesome Dog 5000 is a sci-fi comedy of an adventure that moves at a fast pace with plenty of chuckles to be had and illustrations to enjoy.
Awesome Dog falls in the odd genre that is the comic novel type stories, which contains books like Dork Diaries and Big Nate. It works really well for this type of story, which incredibly fast pace and full of some interesting ideas that definitely need some pictures to make them truly pop. I think where this one is a bit underwhelming is in the actual story portion itself, because it moves so quick it at times it seems like it completely misses point B when moving from A to C. The story itself is almost conversational in the nature, which makes it a pretty relaxed read and does make it feel like you’re kind of in on it. So in that regard, I think it does make up for the lack of depth, and I think the target audience will really enjoy how goofy and off the wall the story gets.
I definitely liked Marty, Ralph, and Skyler who are very different people but have a shared interest in video games which helps solidify them as a team. I think it does a great job of letting kids know that being different and “uncool” by other standards is alright and that finding friends can be easy if you’re willing to open up.
Overall I think this is a cute novel that has some charm to it with its relaxed tone and quick pacing, and it would definitely be a good recommendation for those reluctant readers who might find other books a bit too dull to focus on. .
I received this in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Oh, Awesome Dog 5000...we already can't wait for Book 2! For those readers that love Dogman, Press Start or the Enginerds series, you will certainly find entertainment and delight in Awesome Dog. When Marty moves into the neighborhood in the house of an old inventor, he and his new friends discover quite the invention and trouble along with it. The book is wildly entertaining, fast paced, funny and enjoyable from start to finish. I read it with my six-year-old son who absolutely loved it and couldn't get enough. He looked forward to reading time every day and was sad when it was over. I think that is the best review you can get!
This super silly adventure begins when three friends find a robot dog. Fighting an evil villain by blasting away and using potions to restore everything. Kids will love this fun adventure.
My kids had a blast reading this book this summer. They couldn’t put it down. My daughter (8) read it first then handed it off to her brother (10). Then my daughter reread it because of all the fun illustrations and bonus game at the end. We can’t wait for the Bossypants sequel when it comes out next year.
I really was hoping for a good laugh with this one. While I can see that the goofiness would appeal to readers (Grades 3-5), it didn't have the wit of books like Big Nate or Stick Dog. Awesome Dog does get checked out a lot and I'm glad I read it to know what it is about but now I'm considering moving it out of our humor section and into adventure.
Marty Fontana moves to a new town and enrolls in Nikola Tesla Elementary, and becomes fast friends with Skyler Kwon and Ralph Rogers. Together the trio along with a robotic dog The A.W.S.M. 5000 team up to thwart the evil revenge plans of Dr. Crazybrains. Fun filled action and adventure in this Sci-fi adventure.
Marty and his friends discover a robot dog which leads them to an adventure in which they are battling the evil super villain, Dr. Crazybrains. There is lots of action, but also lots of kid humor. The short chapters and illustrations will also make this a book that appeals to many kids.
Bravo, RICBA Committee. The kids are going to LOVE this. Perfect hybrid for those who are ready for more than Branches: lots of action,underdog heroes, the mention of farts. Big old cliffhanger at the end means I'm going to be getting lots of requests for #2.
This one is hard to categorize for students. Reluctant reader in 4-5th grades or maybe second grade student who is a solid reader. The adventure ranks along the lines of captain underpants, yet the plot is not as defined. Definitely tops out for elementary kids.
Marty has moved to a new school and has to start fifth grade with no friends. The house he moved into was owned by a guy who invented an electric toothbrush. When he makes friends with two kids, Ralph and Skyler, his life changes. They discover another invention, Awesome Dog 5000.
I didn't read this book. My nine year old brother did and this is his review.
This is a fun interactive book, with hilarious characters. The beginning is particularly funny and so is the food fight. The pictures really helped the story along. The kids seemed like super hero's. I enjoyed the main characters three rules, I found it really funny. I laughed out loud at this book many times. I liked how everyone solved the problem. I only wish the pictures had color. Everyone should read this book! I'm super excited for the next one!
This book definitely will have an audience. Silly and nonsensical and fun! Lots of pictures throughout make this a quick read for Captain Underpants fans.