Billy Sure, Kid Entrepreneur

bunnyzhang - This book is a great book! My favorite part was when Manny (Billy the main characters best friend) told Billy that he was actually the one that made the blue prints. What I mean by this is that in the book, one of Billy’s inventions was the All Ball that can almost transform into any type of sports ball. When one night Billy fell asleep, the next morning there was a set of blue prints of the All Ball. Of course Billy did not know who made the blue prints. When Billy and Manny were making another invention, they put an alarm so the person that made the blue print can trip over a wire and then the alarm will shout. When Billy went to bed, in the middle of the night the alarm shouted. There was a set of blue prints of the Sibling Silencer on the desk. When Billy looked in the room there was nobody but Philo and himself. Philo was in the middle of the room awake. The next morning Manny told Billy that he did it himself. Manny had set a camera (Manny was also there) while Billy was concentrating on putting the alarm in.

March 16, 2015
In this peppy series launch, 12-year-old Billy Sure and his best friend Manny are done “floating under the radar, trying not to get stuffed into lockers by the older kids.” Billy becomes an instant, though reluctant, celebrity after inventing the “All Ball,” which can morph into a variety of sports balls. Billy’s teachers fawn over him, his classmates bombard him with invention ideas, and Manny pressures him to invent another contraption for their company, Sure Things Inc. Meanwhile, Billy has a secret that adds to his anxiety: the blueprints for the All Ball inexplicably appeared on his desk one morning. As the deadline approaches for
completing his second invention, the Sibling Silencer, Billy becomes increasingly terrified of being exposed as a fraud. Fun banter among Billy, his peers, and his acerbic older sister, Emily, keep this brisk story rolling, while Ross’s scribbled marginalia and spot illustrations (not all seen by PW) are in keeping with the kid-founded, garage-based entrepreneurism of Sure Things Inc. Billy Sure, Kid Entrepreneur and the Stink Drink pubs simultaneously. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8–12.

March 1, 2015

Gr 3-5-The All Ball is an incredible new invention that can change from a basketball to a soccer ball (or baseball, hockey puck, or bowling ball) with just the click of a remote. Who wouldn't want one? It's the talk of the nation and possibly the world as the inventor espouses the advantages of the All Ball on national television. The inventor is Billy Sure, a young tinkerer and entrepreneur who also worries about how his fame will affect the start of seventh grade. After all, the All Ball is a device that even the school bullies own. Billy also worries about what will happen if everyone discovers he might not have actually invented the All Ball, especially now that he's committed to producing his next invention: the Sibling Silencer. This is a lightweight mystery featuring good kids, kooky inventions, and a little sibling rivalry, with black-and-white doodles throughout. VERDICT A general purchase for libraries looking for light mysteries for younger middle grade readers.-Kelly Roth, Bartow County Public Library, Cartersville, GA

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2015
Grades 3-6 This funny debut features likable Billy Sure, 12, entrepreneur and CEO of Sure Things, Inc. He is famous for inventing the All Ball, a spheroid that, with the touch of a remote control, instantly morphs into different sports balls of various shapes and sizes. Weary of the celebrity attention he receives at school, Billy enlists his irrepressible best friend Manny, the company's CFO, to help create a website where kids can upload videos of their own inventions for possible development. Billy and Manny receive some very interesting ideas, including no-wash socks, a motorized bed, a pencil that does homework automatically, and the sibling silencer. Life is good, except for the fact that Billy's haunted by a secret problem he is afraid to share with anyone. Can he solve it before it ruins everything? Sprinkled with Ross' kidlike black-and-white illustrations, this fast-paced, wacky series opener will appeal to fans of Tommy Greenwald's Charlie Joe Jackson series. Expect further installments to arrive fast and furiouslythree more are scheduled for this year alone.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)