Literary Recipes: Ricky Ricotta and His Mighty Robot

Over at our iAnthology network, where teachers write every week, the prompt this week is to create a “literary recipe” as creative writing. I was mulling over what to write about when I noticed my young son completely immersed in the Dav Pilkey’s Ricky Ricotta series. So, here is my recipe for the books:


Take one tiny mouse and add a dose of smarts and courage.

Introduce giant robot who loves the mouse. Add “protector” to robot personality.

Toss in some villains from distant planets.

  • Jurassic Jackrabbits
  • Stupid Stinkbugs
  • Mutant Mosquitoes
  • Voodoo Vultures
  • Mecha-Monkeys

Be sure to dose liberally with alliteration spices. Shake thoroughly. Shake ’em hard.

Add a bit of mayhem to the plot. It helps if the world is about to be taken over by villains and Ricky is the only one who can thwart the aliens.

Place mouse in danger. Maybe, have his held captive. Let robot know mouse is in danger. Watch robot act.

Sprinkle witty dialogue here and there. If you can add a pun, do so. In fact, be generous with puns.

Make sure the illustrations move the story along. For extra taste, add a few flip-o-rama pages for the battle scenes.

Flip the flip-o-rama. Flip – Flip – Flip.

Bake entire book .. eh, I mean read … for about ten minutes from start to finish. (Five minutes, if you are an adult).

Savor the goofy aftertaste of a fun Dav Pilkey yarn, and then move on to the next book.

Repeat as needed.

Peace (in the robot),
Kevin

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