Meet Dewey Jenkins, a 13-year old school kid who's about to fail science class. Follow Dewey on an amazing adventure that leads him and his friends to a virtual world where they will have to overcome all sorts of digital creatures and solve a number of puzzles in order to get home.
My Video Game Ate My Homework is a funny, fast-paced adventure that shows the importance of cooperation and teamwork and the importance of using your own unique abilities to solve problems. It's illustrated in Hansen's light-hearted, cartoony style, and filled with lots of sight gags and nods to videogaming conventions.
Dustin was raised in rural Utah, where his imagination was his most constant companion. A reader, artist, and gamer from an early age, Dustin was encouraged to mine his talents, follow his passions, and find the fun in everyday life.
Dustin studied art in college, and entered the exciting world of video game development in 1994. His career has taken him and his family from coast to coast, but he always considered the small town he grew up in, Ephraim, Utah, his true home.
After spending a year as a director at Habro, Dustin, his wife, and four kids moved back to Ephraim, where he lives today in the shadows of a fine mountain, writes books about video games and dinosaurs, and takes long walks with his dog, Rusty.
Oh, and he loves the Utah Jazz, but that's another story all together.
(Graysen, age 7): I like how it started out in a restaurant and they were all having a good time, just the three of them. And then all of the sudden their other friend burst in and said, "There's an emergency!" And the other three said, "What??" And the fourth person said, "So, you guys heard I was sent to the principal's office?" I liked how the fourth person felt weird because he accidentally broke the reward for what the boy was going to do. And I like how when they were in the video game, they found 8-bit and the bumblebee girl really really liked 8-bit. And I like how they defeated the big green monster. It was funny that the boy hadn't read the words on the buttons in the first room of the video game and he pushed the button that said "DON'T PUSH!" And he should have read it! Because, when he pushed the "DON'T PUSH!" button, a monster came out and killed him! In the video game. And as people know, in video games you can come back to life if there's more than one person. And it was awesome when The Ferginator turned into a real bear! And I remember when they tried to defeat the Mount Hamburger. The Mount Hamburger is so strong! And it was sad that they all got defeated and it was game over but then they grabbed the heart and the boy got one more try! And when he did the spell "Alphabetum!" the monster died.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Super fun graphic novel! Wide appeal to lots of kids. Has everything from giant spiders and zombie rats to friendship and siblings fighting. Lots of fun, good lessons mixed into it it. Reminds of the Zita the Spacegirl series!
رحلة الفتى "ديوي" واصدقاءه لِداخل عالم افتراضي بعد أن إلتهمَت لُعبة الفيديو مشروع العلوم الخاصّ به، وليتجنب الرسوب وإعادة المادة على الفريق الآن محاربة المخلوقات الرقمية وحل سلسلة من الألغاز داخل اللعبة
القصة خفيفة ومسلية مع رسومات متقنة، حملت مختلف انواع الشخصيات اللي تحتاج تُمثّل في كتب الأطفال من ناحية التطرق لموضوع صعوبة التعلم، الصداقة، الاخوة والعمل بروح الفريق
DNFed...have no patience for artwork that makes all of the characters look like Muppets. Can't get into the story due to character RPG bubbles...just seems really uninteresting.
You can read my full review on my blog, The Bookwyrm's Den, here.
Many thanks to NetGalley and DC Comics for a review copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
As a gamer, I feel like it’s my duty to pick up and read all the delightfully geeky books I can find. You know, for research. For the kids. Obviously.
My Video Game Ate My Homework is a delightful graphic novel that captures both the adventure and spirit of a video game, but also the teamwork and camaraderie required.
Kids seem to love graphic novels these days, and who can blame them? Our patrons, especially, love any sort of game-based books, and I can see this one being a bit hit among middle-graders.
My Thoughts:
- The artwork takes this video game adventure above and beyond. There are such cute little gamer graphics that really brought the video game feel to life, and I such appreciated that. They’ve all got new “character names” when they load. Their abilities are cute, and they discover new items along the way. The artwork was simple, yet pretty, and captured gaming in a way that felt much more immersive. I bought that we were journeying through a video game with the characters and was delighted to see little references that gamers will appreciate if they look carefully at the pictures.
- The humor in this makes it a really quick, fun, entertaining read. I definitely laughed out loud a few times. The characters are … well, characters. It was sort of hard to take some of them seriously, which could be a bad thing, but I felt like the book was serious when it had to be, but for the most part, it keeps a pretty light atmosphere that made it a joy to read.
- While this book does tackle a few important concepts, like friendship and asking for help, don’t expect anything too deep going in. The book does what it does quite effectively, which is gaming. There are some slightly heavier scenes that focus on teamwork and learning to ask for help, and I think those were done well, but the book is so short and focuses so much on the game that I don’t think they leave a lasting impression. This is another book meant for a younger MG audience, though, so I think it probably would have suffered from focusing too much on them, so this seemed like a nice balance of fun, while sneaking in some important life lessons while the kiddos weren’t looking.
My Video Game Ate My Homework is a graphic novel and is written and illustrated by Dustin Hansen. It centers on four friends who enter a virtual reality video game and complete a quest to retrieve an important science project.
An incredible engineer, Dewey Jenkins, 13, struggles with dyslexia. In addition, a VR gaming console called the Infinity Lens has just randomly eaten his science fair project – a ketchup volcano, which represents his last chance at avoiding summer school. Dewey enlists his twin sister, Beatrice, and both of their best friends to venture through the Infinity Lens portal and retrieve the volcano.
My Video Game Ate My Homework is written and constructed moderately well. Hansen leans into the video game setting by emulating recognizable user interfaces: captioned portraits, character and item cards, and dials that denote enemy stats. In densely populated art, Hansen offers high levels of energy as the team faces off against a wide variety of creatures en route to defeating the big boss.
All in all, My Video Game Ate My Homework is a fun read, albeit mediocre, about a deserving hero.
A fun graphic novel about the power of friendship and believing in yourself, with video games and a pet spider thrown in for fun! I loved the characters within and the cute references to games of all kinds. This will be a hit with kids who love video games but also love adventure and fun heroes to follow. The ending was a bit... abrupt, but I enjoyed this nonetheless.
Cute enough and I could see that kids would enjoy it. The video game itself was entertaining if formulaic and familiar. Kids who are in to RPGs might find it too generic and the characters irritating in their (lack of) tactics.
I did not care for the drawing style but it was bright and colorful. Action scenes, given the type of video game it was supposed to be, were rather static.
I loved this book. But I’m concerned that the main character presents as BIPOC and the author is White. Why was this choice made? When my BIPOC students are looking for a mirror in a text I want them to see authenticity. :(
Dewey and his friends go on a wild adventure INSIDE A video game after the video game comes "alive" and swallows up his homework (a special project for the science fair). This graphic novel is sure to please comic book lovers and gaming geeks.
Very cool how much thought was put into making this accessible. Really individual art style that I think kids will enjoy. Video game-y in a way that seemed genuine (makes sense due to Hansen's long video game involvement). Adorable robot companion which is always a plus.
So DC is taking a stab at the highly lucrative field of non-superhero graphic novels for middle grade students, and I sincerely wish them well. This is the first of their DC Kids books that doesn't have a superhero that I've tried, and I think it worked at what it set out to do. Most notably, one of the main characters has dyslexia, and his personal growth is finding new tools to deal with his reading difficulties. His sister, on the other hand, learns how to support him without being overbearing, which is also a good journey to see in a middle grade book. The actual fantasy elements were fine, if unexciting to me, but this is probably something the actual target audience will be much more interested in, especially the giant spiders.
When Dewey's volcano project gets eaten by his video game, he and his friends must enter after it and beat it in order to get the work back on time. As a gamer, getting warped into a game would be perilous (I play Mortal Kombat mostly) and yet I could relate to the fascination of having to go through various levels and hidden clues. I loved the camaraderie that these guys shared. Not to mention, the way Dewey's dyslexia was dealt with. Sadly, I just couldn't find the book suspenseful enough.
My Video Game Ate My Homework by Dustin Hansen, 160 pages, GRAPHIC NOVEL, DC Comics, 2020, $10. 9781401293260
Content G
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS – ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
Dewey Jenkins is 13yo and he has a serious problem. If he doesn’t pass his science class, he’s looking at summer school. Because he’s dyslexic and reading is difficult, he figures building a science fair volcano will be his ticket to success. Besides, first prize is to try out a new virtual reality console. Dewey’s best friend Ferg manages to get a sneak peak at the console and breaks it, so he brings it over for Dewey to fix. The game portal opens up and sucks in the volcano. Dewey, his twin sister, Beatrice, and friends Ferg and Katherine, enter the portal to salvage the volcano.
Fun read with cool graphics. I liked the game symbols that popped up with names and skills and levels loading. The characters are likable. If you are a gamer, this book will feel familiar and immersive and reads as fast as playing a game.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review. *** Guess whose pre-ordering this book for her nephew? This person right here. My Video Game Ate My Homework is an adorable graphic novel about Dewey attempting to make the best science project possible to avoid having to go to summer school. He can create amazing things, but numbers and reading throw him off. His dyslexia affecting his life in ways that make it hard for him to explain to his twin sister whose not affected in the same way. When a virtual reality game eats his science experiment it’ll take team work and really good friends to help Dewey come out on the other side. This comic is amazing and fun and sweet and I hope really good things for this story because it’s one of those stories that needs to be told.
Graphic Novel I received an electronic ARC from DC Entertainment through NetGalley. Humor on every page in both the text and the art. These four friends opt for adventures in the virtual world after the video game takes Dewey's science project. They follow the volcano through the portal and experience the new game in person. Working together they make their way through the challenges and defeat the evil contenders to make it to the final challenge - a rather familiar looking volcano that's taken on a life of its own. Hansen weaves the action and story together to bring fun and humor to middle grade readers. They'll be able to re-read and see new visual gags on each page.
Dewey Jenkins is a brilliant kid. He's great with electronics and gadgets. But because he is dyslexic, Dewey struggles in school. If he can't ace it in his science fair project, Dewey will spend his vacation in summer school.
One of Dewey's best friends is the principal's son. While in his dad's office, Dewey's buddy accidentally breaks the science fair grand prize, an experimental new video game system. Since Dewey is such a tech wizard, he'll probably be able to fix it. But when the video game eats Dewey's science fair project, he'll need all the help he can get.
Along with his twin sister, her best friend and the butterfingers, Dewey must enter the video game to save his project. Or it's summer school for sure!
This is an interesting entry in the DC kids graphic novels. Works like The Secret Spiral of the Swamp Kid and We Found A Monster star characters that aren't DC Universe regulars but there are some official guest stars floating around. Not in this work. I don't even think super heroes exist in Dewey's world. Instead, the kids wear tees with Wonder Woman on them and discuss their favorite characters on Teen Titans Go!
This graphic novel was written and illustrated by Dustin Hansen, a real video game expert. Hansen also has dyslexia. You know how they say writers should write what they know? Well, Dustin Hansen really does know his stuff! And he does an amazing job showing this Madman what dyslexia looks like from a suffer's eyes.
My Video Game Ate My Homework was extremely clever and creative. I didn't really understand the whole thing about the number of lives that a character has in the video game. But that's always been one of my weaknesses when playing video games. Dusten Hansen does what video game developers do very well; he creates a whole world.
Now for my criticism that isn't really a criticism. I liked Hansen's artwork. The monsters in the game and the settings are awesome. The one thing that is a bit unusual for a DC Comic is that everybody look like the human Muppets from Sesame Street. The round noses that are different colors from the rest of the body. The round eyes the size of billiard balls. The lanky arms and legs. I'm wondering if Hansen graduated from the Jim Henson school of art!
A really great graphic novel for 8-12 year old readers with a message. Perfect for those with learning disorders, fans of video games and of course, those who love comics and graphic novels.
This tale was fun fast paced and exciting. It reminded me of the movie, Ralph Wrecks the Internet.
Four friends enter a virtual reality video game and complete a quest to retrieve an important science project in this new graphic novel.
Thirteen-year-old Dewey is a hands on kind of guy. He has difficulty with reading, writing, and numbers due to dyslexia. Dewey’s feeling threatened with a summer spent in summer school. For this reason, he is depending on his fabulous science project he’s worked so hard on to save his final grade. It would be great to win the science prize while he’s at it. The prize is pretty fabulous: it involves a chance to play a new VR game console pre-release date. When Dewey’s friend Ferg shows up with the console in his backpack, broken from his curiously messing with it, he pleads with Dewey to fix it. And It’s an emergency for Ferg: He must return it to its hiding place in the office before his father, the principal, notices it’s gone.
Now the adventure begins when the game suddenly eats Dewey’s science project, an exploding volcano like none you’ve ever witnessed. Now the stakes are high as Dewey’s twin sister, Beatrice, and her good friend Katherine are along for the ride as they enter the game and figure out the rules, powers, and perils to complete their mission and get home.
The diverse cast is a group of creative and likable middle schoolers each with their own sense of humor.
Dewey and Beatrice are black, Katherine is Latinx, and Ferg is white. The story is action packed like a video game. The game has a pretty satisfying conclusion, unlike many video games. The graphics are busy and crowd the panels, but they match the story’s action and bring the game setting to life on the page.
Warning, don’t rush this one, take time to explore the graphics on each page.
You will enjoy the many sight gags and wink-nudges to video games, con life, and overall fandom. Gamers will immediately find identity in this book.
The book encourages readers to problem solve and emphasizes the importance of cooperation and teamwork.
I might be biased based on what I was expecting - this was published by DC, but unlike the other graphic novels for kids they've been putting out, this doesn't seem to take place in that universe. I assumed this was going to be similar to recent books like Anti/Hero and Primer, which focus on new heroes with passing references to show they exist in the DC universe we're familiar with, but that wasn't the case here. I was actually kind of confused because it references the show Teen Titans Go, so more than not being in the DC Universe, it seemed like there were just some nods to the characters being DC fans.
I really didn't like the artwork. All of the characters looked like Muppets and it was pretty distracting. The plot was fairly simple (see title) and had some homage to video games, which people who are more into those might appreciate. I kind of put all expectations aside knowing it was published by DC, but without the label, I should've expected to be kind of disappointed.
Dewey, his twin sister Beatrice, and their best friends Ferg and Katherine are hanging out at Dewey and Beatrices after school. Dewey is freaking out because his science fair project has to be amazing or he's going to summer school. He struggles with book learning because of dyslexia but is great with tinkering so he actually has hope for his project. Ferg is freaking out because he kinda, sorta, opened the VR video game the winner of the science fair gets to play and it kinda broke. Oh, it was in his dad's office, and his dad is the principal if you're curious. Anyway, Ferg desperately needs Dewey to fix the VR game or he is dead meat. Dewey gets it working again, but it zaps up his science fair project and the 4 friends have to beat the video game to try and get it back.
The author/illustrator says in the back that he himself struggles with dyslexia so this is an own voices story of what that can be like. I like how Dewey and Beatrice work out helping each other with dignity. Beatrice struggles with anxiety. The concept of this is fun, and kids should really enjoy the video game adventure. And the twins' pet tarantula Cuddles gets to be the first heroic giant spider in fantasy probably. I liked that twist. I also liked the twist in the ending that I didn't see coming, but was a fantastic finish to the adventure. Hand this to graphic novel fans, scifi fans, and gamers.
@kidlitexchange partner: My Video Game Ate My Homework by @dustinwrites. Releases 4.21 through @dccomics. Dewey has to overcome his challenges reading or else he’ll have to go to summer school. Is his volcano project good enough to win the grand prize of a new video game console? However, that becomes the least of his worries when he and his friends, while sneaking for a peek at the prize, accidentally trigger the device and get sucked into the game. Now they’ll have to team up and use their strengths to win the game and get home. As a kid, I read mostly anything, but this is an example of where I would have drawn the line. I was never into video games OR superheroes (but I really like both now...). However, most kids really like video games and superheroes. So this book will be a blast for them. With tons of colorful art and computer-like graphics, it feels like being inside the game. The heart of the story is Dewey, and his friends, and their unique strengths and weaknesses. I like how the book gave them traits that were revealed inside the game. They all find out that they’re gifted in one way or another. My Video Game Ate My Homework releases April 21! Thanks @kidlitexchange for the review copy—all opinions are my own.
This is a fandom-filled graphic novel that kids and grownups alike will love Dewey is a 13-year-old kid on the verge of flunking science when he and his friends gets sucked into a video game adventure that presents them with challenges, fights with digital monsters, and puzzles to solve. Loaded with sight gags and wink-nudges to video games, con life, and overall fandom, kids (and big kids, like me) will see themselves in Dewey and Co.
The book encourages readers to problem solve and emphasizes the importance of cooperation and teamwork. The cartoony-realistic style and fantasy monsters are so much fun - perfect story to introduce if you have Dungeons & Dragons fledgling fans. If you have Secret Coders readers, give them this book, which will continue challenging their problem-solving skills and captivating them with a fun storyline.
Dustin Hansen's also written the Microsaurs series, which never stays on my library shelves. (Which means I probably need to order them for my kid, because he would LOVE them.) I got to talk to him at Midwinter, and he's one of the nicest people ever.
This was fun and cute, not very deep, but it tried. Dewey, along with his twin sister Beatrice and a couple of their friends, Katherine and Ferg, team up to rescue Dewey's science project from a virtual reality game that ate it. Along the way, Dewey comes to terms with his dyslexia, and he and his sister come to an understanding that she can't always do things for him, but she can be there for him if he needs her. So, we do get a bit of warm fuzzy, but mostly this is a fast-paced adventure, because duh, they're in a video game, what do you expect? The art is colorful and cartoony, with lots of fun detail to get caught up in. The character 8-bit, a robot with a t.v. for a head, was my favorite, I think because of his resemblance to Canti from FLCL. Good fun!
To avoid summer schoool, Dewey needs to have the best science project. His friend, whose dad is the principal, just "borrowed" the video game prize for the science project competition and broke it. He brings it over to Dewey's so they can fix it, along with their other friends, when it ensnares Dewey's science project into the virtual world. Now, all four friends have to go into the video game to save his science project and fix the video game. Each character gets an avatar/RPG when they enter the game, which is cool at first. Then, they realize they have to beat the game to get out alive. Definitely for fans of video games because the characters find supplies, bonuses, ways to level up, and extra lives. Also for fans of Zita the Spacegirl, EngiNerds, Frank Einstein, and Trapped in a Video Game.
Dewey (playing to the librarian audience?) is a 13 year old kid (according to other reviewers, not my memory of the story) who loses his homework to a virtual reality video game adventure. To the tune of Stranger Things and ET for its group dynamics, this is the perfect end of school year adventure comic for middle grade readers. (Has coronavirus ended the 2019-2020 school year?)
The art is lovely and there’s a not-too-forced theme of overcoming dyslexia and fear, and teamwork made great by playing to individual strengths.
Enjoyable, fast-paced read. May make readers want to play more video games.
What a fun story! Graphic novels are just so cool. And this one is groundbreaking in all that they did to help kids with dyslexia be better able to read it.
Dewey struggles with dyslexia and is failing science. He has to get an A in his science fair project or it’s summer school for him. Luckily, he’s really good at creating things with his hands . . . That is until the latest video game eats his homework. Now he and his friends have to go on an epic quest inside the video game to retrieve his homework.
The art is awesome, and the story is fun, and perfect for kids. A super quick read for those reluctant or struggling readers. Highly recommend this one!