About this ebook
Randy O'Rourke wants the robot he built named Brain to be as "Super Colossal" as those at Future World, an amusement park where robots do all the work. Brain doesn't disappoint him. He does Randy's homework and chores--plus some things he wasn't intended to do. His red heart glows in response to compliments. He blinks when touched. He uses "mind talk" to communicate with Randy. However, some of Brain's unprogrammed actions are less endearing. From minor glitch to major disaster, the robot provokes a series of escalating problems. Although Brain is out of control, Randy can't escape that the robot is almost human...and he loves the big pest.
DOUBLE TROUBLE DITTO BOX
Randy O'Rourke invents a "Ditto Box", a machine that copies whatever he puts inside. When he wants a premium baseball glove like his friend Jake's, he puts his friend's glove in, and--voila!--a duplicate comes out. If Randy and Jake want pizza, he orders one, makes a copy, and they eat two. Randy copies homework, games and even Asthma, Jake's furry mutt. Everything is going great until his little sister wants a playmate. Twozy, as Suzy names her "twin", looks and whines just like Suzy. Mom and Dad are mad at Randy for doubling their trouble, and he has to babysit more girls more often. Two sisters are twice as bad as one! How can he get rid of the new one?
About the author
Betty Jo Schuler writes at her central Florida home, where she collects glass paperweights and what her grown kids call "Betty Jo-isms--sayings you have to think about twice". One that she likes about writing is "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got."
"I suppose that's why I write in several genres," she says. "I like trying something different." And she must, since her sixteen published books run the gamut from children's books to adult novels and mystery to romance.
Betty Jo, who has a B.S. and M.A. in elementary education and taught school for twenty-three years, instructs Writer's Digest University online courses in writing for children and young adults. Evidence of her own writing for children can be found in BRAIN MAN and DOUBLE TROUBLE DITTO BOX, two chapter books about a boy whose marvelous inventions spin out of control, were recently combined by Writers Exchange into one volume for eager young readers.
