Elbow Grease

Look, I watched E! and had my opinion of this author when my kid picked this book out. But dang it, if John Cena doesn’t want to have kids he doesn’t have to have kids. It is however a complete crime to not get your kids the Elbow Grease books. My kid’s sole purpose in life is to live with gumption, and because of that I can send him to the basement to get new paper towel rolls, or to the garage to take out my 47th Amazon box of the week. He wants to be like our friend ‘Bo and face his fears and overcome obstacles. What more could you want?! Thanks John Cena!

John Felix Anthony Cena Jr. was born on a sunny day April 23, 1977. He is a wrestler turned rapper, turned actor, turned tv host, turned author. As he once rapped, "for a min put the beef and the gats to da side," and let's take a dive into this literary work.I visited the world of Elbow Grease recently and this may be a stretch to say literary genius, but Elbow Grease is a fun loving, yet in depth, look at the story of the little electric monster truck who could. The character development leaves something to be desired, and there was not much of an arc. Also, the names given to characters were a bit on the nose.That said the general story is that of positivity and perseverance. At its core, is about not being discouraged no matter what anyone says. There is much to be said about the positive messages. I understand John Cena has 4 brothers and there is a message of family and he has spent a lot of time with the make-a-wish foundation and the children he speaks to generally have a lot of gumption regardless of the odds. I would like to point a few things with the message of this book that I feel should be said. 1: No one should ever drive while tired. 2: Sometimes a little planning and thinking ahead could help in the end. 3: No one should ever drive while tired.All of that said, this is a great story and a fine choice for anyone big or small young or old. John Cena is a much better children's author then he is a rapper in my opinion. Gumption, perseverance, and never stopping is a story that will transcend time and space. For this reason, Elbow Grease will live on forever. That is something we can all be grateful for. 4 stars.Chris Adkins

This is a Christmas gift for a 4 year old. He will love it,I am sure.

It was such a pleasant surprise to see an incredible collaboration from John and his illustrator, Howard McWilliam. A nice blend of colorful images with a heartfelt tale of perseverance, determination, proper use of will and the positive use of the most powerful creative device in the Universe (the mind of every individual). Over twenty years ago, when I trained at Hard Nocks Gym in Amesbury, Mass, which is the oldest running gym in this area. I was to meet John Cena and his brothers, Matt and Dan. What you see is what you get with John and his brothers, which is just great, kind, generous, supportive, old values, regular guys. I had mentioned to John that one of the stories in the book I was writing called 'Mysticism in Newburyport' would have a story called 'The School of Hard Nocks' and would he be alright with me mentioning him. John said 'sure, that would be great'. Most people see John's outward physical accomplishments (Bodybuilding, Wrestling, Movies, etc, etc), but for me, the most impressive quality of John is that he has stayed humble and grateful for all that have helped him to succeed. He never forgot Dave Nock, the founder of Hard Nocks Gym and always remembered his roots. That's the sign of a genuine man of integrity. This book is full of John's beliefs and energy that fueled his success in whatever he does. A great book of reminders for all ages. Peter James Ford

My 4/5 year old loves this book. He got it for his birthday. This book teaches about having a "no quitting attitude" and it has really helped my son. There will be times he is doing something hard and I will hear him talk to himself about how elbow grease didn't quit and neither is he!

My son loves these books. He actually picked up the third book in the series at the school book fair. One day I was just browsing and noticed that there were two before it and so I bought the them as well. The books can stand alone but they do build on one another so kids can follow the big story. I also love the message of the books, to never give up and always keep trying to be better. I highly recommend this book as well as the entire series.

My toddlers LOVE the Elbow Grease series. Once we saw it at the library, we had to have our own copies. Now, we have almost all of the picture books and a magnetic book. The stories are cute, the humor is fun, and the illustrations are so lovely. The best part is when my child shouts out the cute taglines that the characters say.

My 3 year old son loves this book! We've read it so many times he's memorized it and can "read" it back to me almost word for word.

I bought this for a 9 year old boy I work with at school and he loves it. We have read it more than once and it has now become a firm favourite! :)

My son enjoys reading this book!!!

Nice story about the importance of hard work and never giving up. It’s quite Americanised but my 3yo son enjoys it

Perfect quality

Great book. Read it to my 2 year old and he loves it