Robot, Go Bot!

Starred review from May 1, 2013
In this deceptively spare, very beginning reader, a girl assembles a robot and then treats it like a slave until it goes on strike. Having put the robot together from a jumble of loose parts, the budding engineer issues an increasingly peremptory series of rhymed orders-- "Throw, Bot. / Row, Bot"--that turn from playful activities like chasing bubbles in the yard to tasks like hoeing the garden, mowing the lawn and towing her around in a wagon. Jung crafts a robot with riveted edges, big googly eyes and a smile that turns down in stages to a scowl as the work is piled on. At last, the exhausted robot plops itself down, then in response to its tormentor's angry "Don't say no, Bot!" stomps off in a huff. In one to four spacious, sequential panels per spread, Jung develops both the plotline and the emotional conflict using smoothly modeled cartoon figures against monochromatic or minimally detailed backgrounds. The child's commands, confined in small dialogue balloons, are rhymed until her repentant "Come on home, Bot" breaks the pattern but leads to a more equitable division of labor at the end. A straightforward tale of conflict and reconciliation for newly emergent readers? Not exactly, which raises it above the rest. (Easy reader. 4-6)

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July 1, 2013
Preschool-G A little girl assembles her own robot and speaks to him in short, rhyming phrases, beginning with Bubble blow, Bot? as she blows bubbles for him to chase, and Throw, Bot as they play catch. Gradually, she becomes more imperious, ordering him to hoe the garden, mow the grass, and tow her in a wagon. After Bot storms off, she leads him back and makes amends by pushing him on the backyard swing. Jennifer and Matt Holm lead off this colorful book from the Step into Reading Comic Readers series with an encouraging letter to parents, saying, Psst . . . you're looking at the Super Secret Weapon of Reading. It's called comics. While the digital illustrations may not look like traditional comic art, the story is told visually as well as in the speech balloons that carry the words. Beginning readers will appreciate the brevity of the text and the predictability of the rhyming phrases. An appealing choice for young readers and robot fans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2014
A girl constructs a friend ("Robot"). They play catch ("Throw, Bot"), float on a raft in a kiddie pool ("Row, Bot"), and do some gardening ("Hoe, Bot!...Mow, Bot!"). There's a nice rhythm to the mostly rhyming text (in speech balloons), which is simple enough for new readers to parse. Unfussy digital-looking illustrations in cool hues are a nice nod to the 'bot.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

September 1, 2013
A full-page wordless panel illustration shows a pigtailed little girl contemplating boxes of parts. At the top of the next page she tinkers, and then on the bottom panel emerges. . ."Robot!" Turn the page and she's pressing a big, red start button: "Go, Bot!" The girl has made a friend for herself, and the two play catch in the backyard ("Throw, Bot"), float on a raft in a kiddie pool ("Row, Bot"), and even do some gardening ("Hoe, Bot! / Grow, Bot! / Mow. / Mow. / Mow, Bot!"). Wait a minute, she's starting to sound a little bossy, isn't she? The robot thinks so and, fed up, storms away. The girl catches up with her mechanized buddy, and, in a satisfying turnaround of attitude -- and a nice echo of the earlier text -- she pushes her friend on the swing ("Go, Bot"). There's a nice rhythm to the mostly rhyming text (in speech balloons), which, while not strictly decodable, is full of sight words and simple enough, at just zero to four words per page, for new readers to parse. What's more, they'll want to read the story because the events are so familiar and relatable (who hasn't felt pushed around by a sibling or friend -- or been the one doing the pushing?), but with a welcome, giggle-inducing dose of the bizarre (a robot giving horsey rides?!). The unfussy digital-looking illustrations in lime-greens, sky-blues, and other cool hues are a nice nod to the 'bot, with a (humanizing) soft-focus look that smoothes any sharp edges. elissa gershowitz

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)