The Magnificent Flying Baron Estate

Gr 5–7—Ten-year-old W.B. wakes one morning to find that his house is floating. "Not floating. Flying," his inventor parents correct him. The year is 1891. The flying house and its contents are off to Chicago to enter a race around the country. W.B.'s parents, P and M, hope to win the $500 prize so that they can hire an assistant for their scientific endeavors, but their plans are thwarted by Rose Blackwood, who hijacks the house and its inhabitants. Rose wants the prize money so that she can break her dastardly brother Benedict out of jail. Told from W.B.'s point of view, the novel is action-packed and adventure-filled. In W.B., Bower has created a likable, relatable main character. Chubby, slightly clumsy, and friendless, W.B. is an only child who feels like a misfit in his own family. He is surprised to learn that the glamorous Rose feels like a failure as well. She is a law-abiding citizen—"I've never even been late returning a library book"—in a family of villains and criminals. Each chapter title is pulled from the final words of that same chapter, creating a nicely rounded narrative effect. Wordplay abounds; for instance, when competitors in the race assault the house with fruit, P exclaims, "Those bananas are a classic sign of gorilla warfare!"