Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Jurassic Jack Rabbits from Jupiter
Dav Pilkey hits the halfway mark in this cheerfully ridiculous,  easy-reader series that spans the solar system, as Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot  takes on the Jurassic Jackrabbits from Jupiter.Little Ricky (a smart young mouse, for those of you just joining us) is having a  birthday, and that's cause for some serious robotic celebration. The  family--along with cousin Lucy ("a little PEST!")--piles on top of the Mighty  Robot for a trip to see dino skeletons at the local museum. Unfortunately,  General Jackrabbit, evil ruler of Jupiter's "billions of carrot-loving  jackrabbits" (the carrots make the planet orange, you see), has other plans for  our heroes. He's hoping to take over Earth, but he knows that first he's got to  take down Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot. And how better to accomplish that than  using the museum's dino skeletons, some of the General's own DNA, and a Meany  Machiney to create three big, mean Jurassic Jackrabbits?There's no doubt that Pilkey can be much funnier when he has more words to work  with--witness any of the Captain Underpants books (and Ricky Ricotta is no  George or Harold)--but this series at least gives younger readers something fun  to do while working on their reading chops. And, of course, you don't have to  read a single word to thoroughly enjoy Flip-o-Rama, Pilkey's "world-famous  cheesy animation technique," which lets readers flip pages back and forth to  animate the action. (Also includes step-by-step drawing tips from equally  fun-loving illustrator Martin Ontiveros.) (Ages 4 to 8)--Paul Hughes