Deborah Stevenson (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, May 2000 (Vol. 53, No. 9))
Ricky Ricotta is a mouse who lives in the mouse metropolis of Squeakyville where, as a glasses-wearing short kid, he’s the target of bullies. His life changes, however, when he supports the refusal of the monster robot to follow the orders of Dr. Stinky McNasty and destroy Squeakyville (“Ricky aimed a kickball at the evil doctor. Ricky kicked as hard as he could”), whereupon the robot becomes Ricky’s new pet/friend, dwelling in his family’s garage and defending Ricky from assault. Dr. McNasty is not thwarted, however, and the robot must go against a giant lizard in a battle for Squeakyville. This doesn’t have the tongue-in-cheek loopiness of Captain Underpants but instead offers a simple cartoon plot broken up into digestible chapters. Unfortunately, the plot’s a bit too minimal for the length and the language isn’t particularly interesting, so the slender story is prolonged beyond effective life. Ontiveros’ comic-book draftsmanship is vigorous and sturdy, but it lacks the character and verve of Pilkey’s own art. This is lighter on text than the good Captain’s outings, but it’s also less bang for the buck; still, baby sci-fi fans might be reassured by the simplicity, robots, and action here. (Reviewed from galleys) Review Code: Ad -- Additional book of acceptable quality for collections needing more material in the area. (c) Copyright 2000, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2000, Blue Sky/Scholastic, 112p, $16.95. Grades 2-4.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2000)
A lonely mouse, bullied at school, befriends a giant robot. After putting a stop to the bullying, the robot saves Squeakyville when his creator, Doctor Stinky, tries to destroy the town. Without the subversive quality of the author's similar Captain Underpants series, the book is only mildly amusing and very slight. Ontiveros's cartoonlike illustrations, featuring flip-book action, are rendered in a style not unlike Pilkey's own. Category: Younger Fiction. 2000, Scholastic/Blue Sky, 110pp, $16.95. Ages 5 to 9. Rating: 5: Marginal, seriously flawed, but with some redeeming quality.