This feature has been compensated by Scholastic. However, all opinions are mine alone. 
It is hard to overstate the importance of reading at a young age. It stimulates intellect, imagination and vocabulary. It gives children gifts that they will be able to use productively throughout their lives. This is why it is so important to get kids to buy into reading early on.
One of the hardest thing to do as a teacher is to find great fictional literature for young boys. Boys love non-fiction text but lose interest in many fictional stories. The boys in my classroom love the Captain Underpants series as well as the Diary of the Wimpy Kids series. (They have a lot of fun with the Wimp Yourself website so if you have a fan in your house be sure to check it out!)
It became apparent to me as soon as I opened up Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot series that these are perfect books for young boys. It bridges the gap between being a “picture” book and a chapter book for those beginning to read on their own. The adventures of Ricky Ricotta kept my son engaged for an extended period of time! I think he loved it from the beginning because he could relate to the main character.
Ricky Ricotta is a little mouse with BIG problems! Every day he is picked on by the neighborhood bullies. He lives in Squeakyville with his mother and father, and being an only mouse, he is often lonely. That is until SOMETHING BIG HAPPENS! A giant flying robot enters Ricky’s life and an unlikely friendship is born! Together, Ricky and his Robot must save the planet from a galaxy bursting with bad guys!
What little boy isn’t excited by robots and bad guys? Jonah is very small for his age and lately he has been complaining that kids at his school are teasing him because of his size. At the beginning of the series there were some mice that teased Ricky too. It captured him right from the beginning. 
Some of my favorite authors are those who started when they were in grade school.
When Dav Pilkey was a kid, he suffered from ADHD, reading challenges, and behavioral problems. Dav was so disruptive in class that his teachers made him sit out in the hallway every day. Dav loved to draw and make up stories, so he spent this time creating his own original comic books. In second grade, Dav created a comic book about a superhero named Captain Underpants. His teacher ripped it up and told him he couldn’t spend the rest of his life making silly books. Fortunately, Dav was not a very good listener. Dav has written and illustrated many bestselling books for children, including the Captain Underpants series with over 70 million books in print, the Ricky Ricotta series, and The Paperboy, a Caldecott Honor Book. Dav grew up in Ohio and now lives with his wife in the Pacific Northwest. You can learn more about him at www.pilkey.com.
These stories warm my first grade teacher’s heart and I love sharing them with my students.
I made a video with Jonah while we read the first Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot book. You can see his interest already peaking as he talked about the book after we read the first half of the first book.
First published in 2000, the new editions of the Ricky Ricotta books feature brand-new full-color illustrations and mini-comics throughout! The illustrations are absolutely remarkable and will capture the interested of even your most reluctant young reader. I know that if I brought these to school they would instantly become the kids’ most requested books to read during Reader’s Workshop time. For that reason, I am going to purchase an extra set just for my class. My son would be heartbroken if I brought these to my classroom. Just take a look at how engaging the illustrations are:
A few of the pages also have comic like illustrations in them. Comic books are huge in first grade. Many times they are the only way I can get some of my reluctant writer’s to write. Having this book as a resource when I am teaching writing is going to be a real asset. The illustrator, Dan Santat has had a long career illustrating children’s books.
Dan Santat attended the University of California, San Diego, where he received a degree in biology. Thankfully, he had a change of heart and went on to pursue an illustration degree from the Art Center College of Design, where he graduated with honors. After a few years of designing art for video games, Dan switched his attention to children’s books. Since then, Dan has written and illustrated several bestselling books for children, including The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend and Sidekicks. Dan also created the Disney animated hit The Replacements. Dan was born in Brooklyn, New York, and now lives in Southern California with his family. You can find out more by visiting his website at www.dantat.com.
As I mentioned before, the series has been around since 2000, but are being re-released with the amazing illustrations and comics inside of them. There are nine books in the series. 5 of them will re-release this year and the next 4 will come out in 2015. I received the first 4 in the series.
RICKY RICOTTA’S MIGHTY ROBOT
Little Ricky Ricotta has a problem: the bullies at school pick on him all the time. Until one day, he saves the life of a mightyrobot. Together, Ricky and his Robot face the bullies, and save Squeakyville from a giant evil lizard monster. That’s what friends are for!
RICKY RICOTTA’S MIGHTY ROBOT VS MUTANT MOSQUITOS FROM MERCURY
Mr. Mosquito hates Mercury. The days are so hot, they melt his flip-flops, and the nights are so cold, his toothpaste freezes solid! He’s decided to take over Earth instead. Ricky and his Robot must stop his army of massive Mutant Mosquitoes!
RICKY RICOTTA’S MIGHTY ROBOT VS VOODOO VULTURES FROM VENUS
Victor Von Vulture hates Venus. His toasted cheese sandwiches are always way too gooey, and ice cream melts in a second! So he and his army of Voodoo Vultures try to cast a spell on the Earth. It’s up to Ricky and his Robot to stop them!
RICKY RICOTTA’S MIGHTY ROBOT VS THE MECHA-MONKEYS FROM MARS
Little Ricky Ricotta has a problem: the bullies at school pick on him all the time. Until one day, he saves the life of a mightyrobot. Together, Ricky and his Robot face the bullies, and save Squeakyville from a giant evil lizard monster. That’s what friends are for!
I am going to be very excited to buy the rest of the books in the series when they come out next year. If you have reluctant boy readers, I encourage you to get your hands on this series. Your child will love them!
To learn more about the Ricky Ricotta books be sure to visit the Ricky Ricotta Official Site as well as follow Scholastic and ScholasticTeach on Twitter. You can also like Scholastic Parents and Scholastic Teachers on Facebook for more information about wonderful children’s books.
What are some of your favorite children’s book series?
Carly from The Puzzled Palate says
In a few short years- I am sure this would be a favorite for my son! I will have to pin it to my book suggestions board so I remember!
Felicia says
First of all, he is adorable!!! Also, I’ve got to get a few of these for my son. He would love them.
Brett says
Oh goodness. I haven’t seen this one but need to check it out for my little guy. He’s an avid reader and wants to read EVERYTHING. He’s really into facts…. How to Train Your Dragon series (he’s on book 7), Percy Jackson, The Lunchlady books…
Chrysa says
These books look really fun. It sure looks like your little guy is enjoying them. We will have to look for these at the library!
Raijean says
We love Scholastic books, going to check these out.
Debbie Denny says
Sounds like these are good books. Adorable reader you have there..
Robin (Masshole Mommy) says
How cute. I bet my 7 year old would like a couple of these books.
Crystal Green says
Oh my goodness, my boys would love to read this series. Any Dr. Seuss book has always been a huge hit in our home. However, my personal favorite children’s book is the Secret Garden.
Amy Desrosiers says
I think my girls would love these books. They are very colorful and look like fun reads.
Melinda says
I’m not familiar with this series. I think my youngest would like it
Everyday Living with Chrys says
So adorable! These books look like a fun read.
Theresa says
My daughter is really into the Warrior Cat series right now. I am not sure if she would be into these books, but I know my 8 year old nephew would love them!
Shell says
This looks like a fun series! I pinned so I can find them for my boys!
Susanna @Zealous Mom says
Thank you for this! My five-year old not quite ready for chapter books but is ready for something more than picture books. This just may be the series I’ve been looking for.
Lisa says
My husband loves these books! My son is into LEGO and Captain Underpants right now. lol
Camesha says
I’ve never heard of this. I think my son would be into these stories. He just told me he wants his room decorated with robots on the wall so… yeah, right up his alley. 🙂
Pam says
These look like great books to get boys interested in reading! I can’t think of any boys I know who don’t love robots.
Liz Mays says
I love that you’re buying a set for the classroom too. It’s a new to me series and it sounds like one every child would adore.
Jeanine @ sixtimemommy.com says
These books are amazing! We actually
Got them to review too and my
Sons LOVED them! Very very great!!
Carly Anderson says
This is my first time ever hearing of this series! Your son looks like he’s really enjoy that book!
vanessa: thequeenofswag says
These are such great books. I can’t wait to share the craft I’m doing for them.
Donna says
My son has always loved reading, and these sound just like the types of books he liked to read when he was younger.
Catherine S says
Those sound like great books. My son would have loved them when he was younger . I am sure the class will love them.
Veronica says
That looks like a fun book. My son is a bit old for it but he loves robots
Stacie @ The Divine Miss Mommy says
What a great book series for young readers. The artwork is really great.
kristin says
Those look like great reads! My girls would enjoy it!
Lori Gunn says
This sounds like a great book for kids. Thanks for sharing the great information.
Anjanette @MommaYoung says
Oh I just have to get these for my kids. Our youngest bunch ages 6, 4, 3 need some new materials and this “Mighty Robot” series looks perfect. Thanks for sharing.
Christie says
These books look right up to my son’s alley of reading. He loves robots!
Tracey says
Your son is so cute! Those books look awesome, what boy doesn’t like robots?
Mel Outnumbered says
Ricky Ricotta series sure are great books! My kiddo likes them too!
krystalskitsch says
I’ll have to look into these for my son. He is already wanting to “read!”
Angela says
I haven’t heard of this series before. I’m sure my grandkids would love it.
Danielle @ We Have It All says
Aww those look like great beginner books. My son would have loved those!
Ann BAcciaglia says
My kids are older but they read lots of Arthur books, Blues Clues, Berenstien Bears etc. It is fun when you find a series of books that your kids enjoy reading.
Amanda Her says
I have never heard of this series before. I think my son would love reading these!
Tammy Litke (@threedifferent) says
My daughter really enjoyed the Junie B. Jones books when she was younger. I have not heard of this series before, but I’m going to look into getting them for my nephews. The youngest just started Kindergarten too and has some speech difficulties so I’m guessing much like Jonah he may feel connected to Ricky.
Crystal says
We have been reading those as well! We are loving the Flip-o-rama feature. It’s a great bridge between chapter books and comics.
Ty says
Looks like a fun series! I’ll definitely have to check it out
Anne - Mommy Has to Work says
I need something like this for girls.
Theresa @ Faith and Family Reviews says
Oh this looks like a good series! I’ll have to check it out, I’m glad your son likes it.
Jenn says
It seems comic books are the only way to get some kids to read, but I’m all for whatever works! I love that these are tackling the issue of bullying.
Penelope says
These sound really good, like my son would really learn from them
HilLesha says
This is such a cute series!
Marcie W. says
Thank you so much for sharing this series! My son is in 1st grade and we have been looking for a “my first chapter book” type series geared more toward boys. This is great!