House of Robots

House of Robots #1

by James Patterson, Chris Grabenstein, Juliana Neufeld (Illustrations)

In this highly-illustrated series from James Patterson, an extraordinary robot signs up for an ordinary fifth grade class . . . and elementary school will never be the same!
It was never easy for Sammy Hayes-Rodriguez to fit in, so he's dreading the day when his genius mom insists he bring her newest invention to school: a walking, talking robot he calls E-for "Error". Sammy's no stranger to robots; his house is full of a colorful cast of them. But this one not only thinks it's Sammy's brother . . . it's actually even nerdier than Sammy. Will E be Sammy's one-way ticket to Loserville? Or will he prove to the world that it's cool to be square? It's a roller-coaster ride for Sammy to discover the amazing secret E holds that could change family forever . . . if all goes well on the trial run!

Genres: Science Fiction, Middle Grade, Childrens, Fiction, Humor, Audiobook, Robots

3 pages, Audio CD

First published November 24, 2014

About the author

Official US Site
Official UK Site
JIMMY Patterson Books
ReadKiddoRead

James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time and the creator of such unforgettable characters and series as Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride. He has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton, Dolly Parton, and Michael Crichton, as well as collaborated on #1 bestselling nonfiction, including The Idaho Four, Walk in My Combat Boots, and Filthy Rich. Patterson has told the story of his own life in the #1 bestselling autobiography James Patterson by James Patterson. He is the recipient of an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.

Reviews

[Nolan Walchuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is just another great book by James Patterson. His books continue to make me want to read more and more. I have read his I Funny series, his Treasure Hunters series, and this book. It's full of drama and if you are looking for a happy ending, this is one. It's another overall great book by James Patterson.

[Lex Prillwitz · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is about Samuel Hayes-Rodriquez. As he goes into fifth grade, his parents inform him that he has to take a friendly robot named "E" (short for Egghead) with him to school as an experiment. Samuel is distressed at the idea, but nonetheless, he is forced to go to school with "ERROR!" as Sammy calls him.


I am twelve years of age and I have read this book, House of Robots, more than twice. I received it as a Christmas present from a relative.

The book is nice. Characters like E are easy to take a liking to, and people hurt and hope along with them. I have personally been to South Bend Indiana which makes the story feel more close. However, the story contains some errors which make it a bit harder to enjoy the book. Overall, the book is nice, but there could definitely be some imprvements.

For one, the actually outline of the story is poorly written. The book itself is nice and it is easy to sympathize with the characters(Though in he beginning, Samuel seems to be very harsh towards the innocent E), but the way it is written is rather disorganized. Certain characters, facts, and parts of the story are introduced in a scrambled manner. In chapter six, it skips the entire school day and shows that Samuel, his parents, E, and the principal in a meeting about E's suspension. Then in chapter seven, Patterson recaps his adventure with E.

For another, the illustrations in the book are inconsistent. For example, on pages 59, 237 and 266, the robot "Britney 13" is shaded, has a heart shaped emblem on her chest surrounded by a light-colored circle. But on pages 287 and 292, Britney 13 is shown to have dark-colored elbow and knee joints,an oddly shaped chest-plate and circular ear-like objects. On the cover, the robot known as "Drone Malone" is much smaller than shown on pages 59 and 237. Finally, on page 193, Dr. Scientrific is described as having curly hair, an unkempt mustache and a wireless microphone headset. Contrastingly, on the next page, he is shown with straight tall hair, cleanly shaven, and the microphone headset is not apparent.

Finally, one minor note. On page 32, E is shown lifting the 250 pound Coach Stringer. However, on 294, it is shown that a seventh grader and an eighth grader are able to kidnap E and take him apart. Where did E's strength go? It is true that he may not want to harm them, but if he needed to escape (which he clearly did), he simply needed to strech his hydraulic legs and the boys would not be able to capture him.

Am I the only one to notice these things?

[Sunny Sethi · Rating 4 out of 5]

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?
This is a book for anyone who is interested in robots and intriguing characters. The theme of the book is friendship and learning to see the good in other people (or robots). I think this a great, lighthearted book and is a great starting point for a great series

[Simona Stoica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vreau și eu o armată de roboți, la „dispoziția” mea.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

me: 3 stars
son (age 10): 3 stars
daughter (age 5): 3 stars

This was a good book, but for some reason we all kept tuning in and out. I think it could have easily been a 4 star read because it had some cool concepts, the main idea of the book revolving around a robot who attends elementary school as a stand-in for a girl who is extremely susceptible to germs on a life-endangering level. She is able to attend school, then, without physically being in the classroom. The book is also cool in that it is the mother who invented and created the robot (and the dad is a graphic novelist). Conflict ensues when the mother's rival at the university where she works invents his own robot and plays dirty tricks to undermine her advances in robotics. And, of course, this all takes place at the elementary school.

This was my son's audio pick, next up will be my daughter's selection.

[Josh Newhouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another also Grabenstein-Patterson joint! Snorting milk out if nose in first part and sighing with empathy... Just a nice book!

[John Minney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great James Patterson book

[Anthony Vanover · Rating 5 out of 5]

B3 This another book by James Patterson the greatest author in the world. Sammy is like his moms Guinea pig his mom is an inventor she's made mr mop and shine ( a robo Buttler who cleans up the house he goes the round the house all day and all night.). There's Britney 13 she's a robot designed to act and feel the same way as a teenager. Then there's robo baby who is designed for almost the same reason as Britney 13 but instead of being a teenager it has a baby life. So many more sammy's little sister can't have any germs around her or she well die. Now Sammy he is a regular kid who's is the opposite of that she just built a robot to send to school guess who has to go with and teach hi. How to act Sammy. If I told you any more it would be a spoiler so I won't. 354 pages house of robots b3 by James Patterson. By Anthony.vanover 7 blue

[Daniel Rojas · Rating 4 out of 5]

House of Robots by James Patterson is another great and enjoyable read by James Patterson. Sammy Hayes-Rodriguez is a kid with a not so exciting addition to his school life. Sammy basically has one thing to look forward to when he gets home, his sister who can't really leave the house because of an illness she has always had ( she is his best friend). E is a new robot, one of the many Sammy's mother has created, that is the not so exciting addition to school. Sammy will have to spend his year with E , a very intelligent "bro bot" to Sammy, at school testing him for something Sammy's mother won't tell him. Sammy considers E an inconvenience and wouldn't care less if he blew up. After a set back with E that is a major interruptance in school, Sammy's mother reprograms E to fix the error but also expands his capabiliy to interact with people like a human. Because of this, Sammy is able to enjoy hanging out with E. But then, E is stolen and broken into peices that are set upon Sammy's front door. They fix E and later reveal his true purpose to be, well I'm not going to tell you. I'd recommend this book to most middleschool boys who are interested in an easy and fun read.

[Loretta Marchize · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my sister's library book-club book. (she's nine) I picked it up the other day because I was bored and found myself strangely fascinated with it!

To my surprise, it was a wonderful book! It was cute, funny, and at the same time had sibling love, best friends figuring out life, and some great lessons.

I didn't expect to like the book as much as I did, and I mostly loved the ending. Because guess what? It didn't end with explosions and mysterious villains swooping in to wreak havoc, then the hero miraculously saving the day. It was just a boy, his sister who also happens to be his best friend, his second-best friend (his sister gets first) and a robot boy who is trying to be real.

[Randy Tramp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sammy Hayes did not fit in. That status amplifies when his mom sends her newest invention with him to school, a robot called "E". Sammy calls the robot "Error."

What a fun story. I could imagine a house full of robots as fun but then could understand Sammy's hesitance in accepting them.

This is a Middle School story for kids of any age. And... Love the message.

[Kendall Crowell]

I thought this book was great because it had a lot of adventure and funny moments.

[Erin Mendoza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this one with Andrew. It was a cute story with a good lesson. The illustrations really added to it and kept Andrew interested.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 8 year old and I enjoyed this.

[Caleb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, very short though, which could be good or bad depending on how much you like it. It is pretty easy, like a lot of books by James Patterson, but can be good if you are behind on a goal.

[Isaac Jensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

My students love this book; I don’t know why I was expecting more from mid-grade fiction

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that was a wonderful book. I felt that it had a happy vibe with the whole book. It started a little boring with just talking about the robot and the kid, but as the story went on, the excitement grew to an enormous level. I would read again! 9/10 for creativity, and a great ending!

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

School Library Journal
( November 01, 2014; 9780316405911 )
Gr 3-6-Sammy Hayes-Rodriguez has never had an easy time fitting in at school. His mother is an inventor, his father is a graphic novel artist, and his beloved little sister has an immune condition that keeps her confined to the house. His best friend Trip has a talent for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. And then, there are the robots: a houseful of his mother's creations, programmed to do everything from housework to tutoring, plus some that don't do anything useful at all. When Sammy's mother insists that he take a robot named E to school with him, he knows that he's in for a record-breaking amount of teasing and trouble-and when E starts insisting that he is Sammy's brother, the situation goes from bad to worse. Sammy refuses to have anything to do with E at school, even when the robot's popularity starts to eclipse Sammy's and Trip's. But when E is kidnapped, Sammy realizes that he was starting to get fond of his robot brother, and he teams up with friends (both human and robot) to solve the mystery of E's disappearance. This light and funny story incorporates plenty of humor, both in the text and in the accompanying comic-style illustrations. Sammy's relationships with his parents, sister, and best friend are strong, if not particularly nuanced. A fast-moving plot, lots of jokes, and a host of weird robots will draw readers in, especially those looking for books similar to series such as "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" (Abrams/Amulet) and "Timmy Failure" (Candlewick).-Misti Tidman, Licking County Library, Newark, OH (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

**I was surprised that the author of this review found that Sammy's relationships with his "parents, sister, and best friend were not particularly nuanced." I felt as if the relationships were were carefully constructed and felt "real" instead of forced as some character relationships can be. I found Sammy's relationship with his sister to be particularly touching, and having a son in fifth grade myself, I felt his relationships with everyone in the book were similar to what I see in my child's relationships.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was never easy for Sammy Hayes-Rodriguez to fit in, so he's dreading the day when his genius mom insists he bring her newest invention to school: a walking, talking robot he calls E – for "Error". Sammy's no stranger to robots – his house is full of a colourful cast of them. But this one not only thinks it's Sammy's brother... it's actually even nerdier than Sammy.
Will E be Sammy's one-way ticket to Loserville? Or will he prove to the world that it's cool to be square? It's a roller-coaster ride for Sammy to discover the amazing secret E holds that could change his family forever... if all goes well on the trial run! (Book summary From Goodread.com)

Read this book with my son, who just loves James Patterson. So this was a no brainier when buying it for Christmas. Let me just say as a adult, who has read James Patterson's more adult books. It's actually kind of funny to read a kid's book by him.

A cute read, with little drawing (comic strips) on the pages. I don't find the idea of a robot brother as exciting as a eight year old might. Yet, that isn't the point. This book with its goofy characters, and story line. Had my child pulled into the book with a smile. That is a win, win. Where getting children to read for most parents, is a struggle. I would recommend this fun read.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a great book for teaching other kids that you can't judge a book by its cover. For example in the story Sammy the main character hates his new robo-brother that he has to take to school everyday and thinks that it makes him look like a total loser. Later in the book Sammy finds out that he actually loves his new brother and everyone else at the school starts loving his new brother too. The book has many exighting parts too. For example, when Sammy's local bully threatens him his new brother stands up for him and tells him that he'll always be there to help him. This book is written by the amazing author James Patterson who also writes my favorite series called Treasure Hunters. I highly recommend reading this book and any other books in James Paterson's middle school series.

[Coleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first of Patterson's Robots series, which I purchased for my granddaughter. I like to read the books before I give them to her, and this one was no exception. A "graphic novel", it is geared to middle school kids. It is hard to imagine that anyone of any age would not like it. Some of the words may be above the younger ones vocabulary, but that is all to the good- increase their vocabulary in a fun manner!

E is the name of the Robot, and the letter can designate whatever you want, but the characters in the book have their own names for E. E is created by Sammy's mother and in this book, it goes to school with Sammy. Interesting and not too difficult a story line for kids.

From there, it is easy to see many books in the future.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was really cute. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I did Patterson's Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life series, but that might be because it seems to be aimed at a slightly younger reader (upper elementary). And no matter how cute Samuel is, he doesn't seem to have as much personality as Middle School's Rafe.

Still, the story has a lot of great themes (family, friendship, bullying, and illness) and Grabenstein's illustrations are once again an awesome addition to the story. This will be great for reluctant readers and for students who enjoy Patterson's other works.

[Gabriel Knebel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book actually turned out to be AWESOME! It starts with a house full of robots (duh) and humans (also duh), however, a new, more technologically advanced robot is about to join the family. Meet E, a lovable robot who takes everything quite literally, and is actually kind of annoying at first. However, think Omnidroid from The Incredibles. Yes, E too is a learning robot. He learns "cool" talk and protection skills. But when E goes missing, it's up to Sam (The human protagonist) to find E and save the day. Will he find E, or is he lost forever? Read the book to find out!

[Rlahav · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for children & adults alike, House of Robots was one of my favorites. Sammy's mom, Elizabith, built all different kinds of robots to do work around the house. Then E is built, and Sammy has to take him to school for a reason that he doesn't know. E's 1st day is crazy, and because of this Sammy starts to hate E. Will E sucseed? Or will he fail? Find out in House of Robots!

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an enjoyable read, some brilliant pictures, so many pictures in fact that it slows down the reading as we had to stop and discuss everything that was going on in the pictures.

The story is good too, quite moving at times. My one issue though is that Cooper Elliot should have been expelled for the crap he kept doing.

[Nathan Jaskiewicz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is kind of a comedy book with graphics in it. It is pretty funny and a joy to read. I recommend this to anyone looking for a funny nice sized read. James Patterson blends his comedic and writing skills perfectly in this book. I say this is a great book.

[Al Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this one to my son (who's 7), and he thoroughly enjoyed it, as did I.. Easy to get into, even as an adult, the story is quirky, funny, and both protagonists (boy & robot) are very likeable. The real thing that stood out for me, was Sammy's relationship with his housebound sister.

[Marge Keller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book. Liked the relationships. Drawings were good. Laughed out loud at points. Look forward to the rest in the series. Kid appeal.

[Vincent Szabo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished the book, and I gotta say... This was a really great book. This was a lot better than I thought it would be. I recommend this to people that thinks robots are cool. Trust me.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

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