W.B. woke up one Saturday morning to discover that his inventor parents turned their house into a flying machine and his plans for the afternoon are dashed. It is 1891, after all, and living in Pitchfork, in the Arizona territory, means that W.B. gets to see Sheriff Hoyt Graham in person. He's already read all the adventure books written about Sheriff Graham and all the villains he's put in jail, so getting to see the sheriff in person would just make W.B. so happy. But now he is flying to Chicago in his house. 

W.B. (short for Waldo Baron) finds out from his parents that they're heading for Chicago, to the Exposition Fairgrounds, where they will begin a scavenger hunt around the country to win the prize of $500. 

The Baron family makes it to the fairgrounds okay, but their adventure takes a turn when they get kidnapped by Rose Blackwood, who commandeers their flying house to win the prize money to get her brother, the nefarious Benedict Blackwood, out of jail. 

But things aren't always as they seem in this quirky, clever story of family, heroes, villains, adventure, and dreams of talking squirrels. If you have a middle grader in need of some anachronistic, fantastic fun this summer, then you should definitely check out Eric Bower's The Magnificent Flying Baron Estate. 

Galleys for The Magnificent Flying Baron Estate were provided by the publisher through NetGalley.com.