Review: Benji Franklin: Kid Zillionaire by Raymond Bean

SUMMARY FROM NETGALLEY.COM:

After inventing a bestselling excuse-generating app, twelve-year-old Benjamin "Benji" Franklin became the world's youngest and, well, only ZILLIONAIRE. Unlike other fat cats, this tiny tycoon uses his wealth for the greater good instead of selfish gain -- because it's not all about the Benjamin!
For ages 7-10.
* A modern-day Richie Rich
* 60-page, middle-grade chapter book featuring nearly 50 illustrations
* Written by Raymond Bean, best-selling author of the School Is A Nightmare series and the Sweet Farts series
* Highly marketable and licensable character and concept with strong digital potential
* Broad appeal to boy demographic, including young tech-heads, entrepreneurs, underdogs, humor fans, and much more!
About the Author:
Raymond Bean is the bestselling author of the Sweet Farts books, the School Is A Nightmare series, and other books for young readers.
About the Illustrator:
Matthew Vimislik first gained acclaim with his “funny monster” drawings displayed on his refrigerator at his parents house. Since then, he has drawn for McGraw-Hill, Scholastic EDU, Oxford University Press, and various magazines, including Appleseeds, Calliope, Faces and Odyssey.

MY TAKE:
Benji Franklin is one of those kids who seem a little bit cocky but are really just so brilliant that they don't even notice how odd they can be sometimes.

In Benji Franklin: Kid Zillionaire, Benji Franklin develops an app for his tech class that becomes such a popular download that he makes a ton of money. Because of his brilliant app and creative mind, he's recruited by a couple of rich geniuses for some pretty interesting missions.

I like Benji. There were some moments wherein he seemed a little Tony Stark-ish, but overall, he's like a less sarcastic mini-Tony Stark. That's great, because Tony Stark is one of my favorite Avengers.

The idea of Benji creating an app that goes viral is brilliant. I know that there's at least one kid who made a lot of money after creating an app that people liked, so this idea isn't too far-fetched. If anything, it makes me want to start coding and makes me hope that when my kid goes to school, his computer class will focus on useful things like coding.

What's great about this book is that Benji has all these amazing adventures and tons of cool stuff, but he never forgets to help others out, especially his mom and her charity work. Plus, the kind of help he gives isn't the handout-type wherein it's temporary and once it runs out, there's nothing. His help is the hand-up type wherein the community can sustain them and keep living on them.

Thanks to NetGalley and Capstone Young Readers for the e-copy.

THE GOOD:

1. It can inspire kids to be more creative.
2. Benji is a good kid.
3. Benji's adventures are fun and interesting. 

THE BAD:

1. There aren't a lot of realistic things in this book, which may or may not be a good thing.

FAVORITE QUOTE/S:

"Did you know that once you've reached an altitude of 50 miles above the planet you are, by definition, an astronaut?" Sir Robert asked. 

READ IT IF:

1. Your child likes inventing things.
2. Your child likes technology.
3. Your child likes books about kids that go on wild adventures. 

RATING:


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