Parents' Guide to

House of Robots, Book 1

By Carrie R. Wheadon, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Mild story a winner for reluctant-reader robot fans.

Book James Patterson, Chris Grabenstein Family Life 2014
House of Robots, Book 1 Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

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age 13+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Corinne L.
Corinne L. Parent
March 14, 2017
age 18+

Innapropriate illustration

I bought this book for my 3rd grader last year who was 8 years old. He brought it to me to show me a funny picture. The picture shows the boy doing something that looks very naughty to the robot and the caption reads, "Gulp"! I was very upset that the illustrator would put that in a child's book.

This title has:

Too much sex
villebilly
villebilly Adult
February 9, 2016
age 8+

Normal kid trying to grow up in a Sci Fi house

Who wouldn't want to live in a house of robots? The main character shares how neat it is at times while at other times it can get a bit crazy. Sammy mainly wants to have a "normal" life but having a mother as a scientist inventor will not allow that. He shares his adventures of living with all these robots as well as dealing with a bully at school. Sammy also has a sister with a major medical issue that often gives him perspective on things.

This title has:

Great messages
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Sammy is beyond mortified when his brilliant scientist mom sends him to school with her latest robot creation, named E -- especially when everything goes so spectacularly wrong, starting with a nonstop spouting of facts in every class and ending with a fire that cleared out the whole school. As if he didn't get teased enough by No. 1 bully Cooper Elliot. Mom promises to fix E so he'll blend better with his classmates, but of course Sammy's skeptical that any version of E would be an improvement. But E 2.0 is much better, especially when all the kids see E do tricks on his specially made bike and help out everyone at school. Sammy's just about to admit to E that he really does appreciate him -- especially after some serious help with his bully problem -- when E goes missing. Who could have taken him? And what will Sammy do without him?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2):
Kids say (3):

HOUSE OF ROBOTS is a simple story meant to capitalize on kids' love of robots to draw them in. Sammy and his family are intriguing characters -- the book gets extra points for having a brilliant scientist mom -- and so are the robots who take care of them. The message of accepting your own differences and those of your friends is always welcome, especially as these readers contemplate the increasingly more complicated social terrain of upper-elementary school. The fact that Sammy sticks by his awkward friend Trip speaks volumes about him.

The framework is solid for a nice long series, but the storytelling is sometimes sloppy. Sammy, as the narrator, even jokes about getting ahead of himself and needing an outline. Worse than that, though, are some characters who are never introduced and become the surprise antagonists at the end. That kind of thing is easily fixed by a scene early on -- and should have been. Reluctant readers deserve carefully written stories, too.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about robots. Do we have the technology to create a robot as sophisticated as E? Or even the cleaning robot? If you had a robot, what would you like it to do? (Besides all your homework, of course.)

  • What made you pick up House of Robots? Will you read other books in the series? What do you like best about it? What do you like least?

  • How is life difficult for Sammy's sister Maddie? How does Sammy help her? Why does he admire her?

Book Details

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