Ricky Ricotta and his best friend, an amazing, giant flying robot, save the world from an invasion of massive mutant mosquitoes from Mercury. Whoops! When Ricky offers his gigantic robot friend his parents' minivan as a skateboard substitute, neither mouse nor robot considers the consequences. Sure enough, the skateboarders wipe out, and the van is squashed. Now it's up to the "boys" to earn some money to pay for the damage. "Meanwhile, about 35 million miles away on the planet Mars, there lived a mean little monkey who was hatching an evil plan." Good thing for Ricky and Robot, because, well, one intergalactic battle leads to another, and pretty soon these two have earned themselves a brand-new rocket-powered minivan from the general of the Squeakyville Air and Space Association, in gratitude for saving Earth from Major Monkey and his mecha-monkeys. Young readers will be pleased as punch to see this latest title in Dav Pilkey's series, which includes Ricky Ricotta's Giant Robot vs. the Mutant Mosquitoes from Mercury and Ricky Ricotta's Giant Robot vs. the Voodoo Vultures from Venus , all illustrated with Martin Ontiveros's funny black-and-white drawings. (Ages 5 to 10) --Emilie Coulter Grades 2-4--In their fourth adventure, young mouse Ricky and his super-robot friend battle the evil Martian villain Major Monkey. After decoying the Mighty Robot to Mars with a fake distress call, the simian fiend plans to take over Earth with the aid of his giant metallic Mecha-Monkeys. It's up to Ricky to travel to the red planet and release the robot in time to save the world once more. Pilkey's special brand of deadpan humor highlights the off-the-wall plot. The brief, easy-to-read text and Ontiveros's black-and-white cartoon illustrations strike just the right note of mock heroism. The "Flip-O-Rama" activity pages add to the comic-book effect. This science-fiction romp should have strong appeal to reluctant readers as well as those just making the transition to chapter books. Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Praise for the Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot series: "An adventure story with great appeal . . . With barely more text than a long easy-reader, this title will be a heaven-sent choice for kids with reading difficulties." - School Library Journal "It's easy to see how Pilkey's high-action, easy-reading chapter novel with a comic book feel would appeal to younger readers . . . Silly good fun." - Kirkus "Newly independent readers and Pilkey fans alike will not be disappointed by this humorous ride." - School Library Journal "Aimed at a younger audience than the wildly popular Captain Underpants books, this series opener has all the classic Pilkey hallmarks..." - Booklist DAV PILKEY is the creator of many acclaimed children's books, including Dogzilla, Kat Kong, god bless the gargoyles, and the bestselling Captain Underpants series. His book The Paperboy received a Caldecott Honor. He lives in the Pacific Northwest. www.pilkey.com