School’s in again, and we have just about gotten back into the groove of early mornings and the first few days of gasp, homework.
It took the edge off going back to school a bit when we recently received review copies of The Wild Robot and The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown.
Peter Brown had also written “Mr Tiger Goes Wild”, a picture book with an extremely thought-provoking theme, where Mr Tiger, replete in full western suit, decides to eschew the trappings of society and be true to himself. It was very well-loved by the kids and me!
What about his chapter books?
10 year old K dug into The Wild Robot and was quickly absorbed by its pages. It has been called “A boldly original and beguiling wild adventure” that is not your usual run-of-the-mill middle grade lit.
It is like a dystopian novel for kids!
Here’s the synopsis by its publishers:
When robot Roz opens her eyes for the first time, she discovers that she is alone on a remote, wild island. She has no idea how she got there or what her purpose is – but she knows she needs to survive.
After battling a fierce storm and escaping a vicious bear attack, she realises that her only hope for survival is to adapt to her surroundings and learn from the island’s unwelcoming animal inhabitants. As Roz slowly befriends the animals, the island starts to feel like home – until, one day, her mysterious past comes back to haunt her.
From bestselling and award-winning author and illustrator Peter Brown comes a heart-warming and action-packed novel about what happens when nature and technology collide. By turns funny, moving, surprising and dramatic, this is a novel that is as thought-provoking as it is enchanting.
Piccadilly Press
I thought it was refreshing to have a female robot as the protagonist of this book! K’s favourite character in the book was the baby goose, and her favourite part of the book was when something dramatic happened to that gosling’s parents. All very intriguing.
After The Wild Robot’s success as a New York Times bestseller, it was no surprise that Peter Brown wrote a sequel – The Wild Robot Escapes.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book – the world where robots efficiently carry out all menial tasks whilst humans live in indolent luxury in cities, seems all too imminent when I paused to think about it.
And this is what good literature does – make you ponder the present, and what future we are hurtling towards, amongst other things.
I thought Brown did an excellent job in portraying the tension between Roz’s desire for freedom and the guilt she felt over escaping and abandoning the farmer who needed her. Do we too, wonder if we are defective, when we find ourselves hesitating from making rational decisions that any good homo economicus would?
Here are what the publishers have to say about the sequel:
Roz is no ordinary robot. After being washed up on the shore of a remote and wild island, she learned to adapt and make it her home, befriend its animal inhabitants and even adopt a small gosling, Brightbill.
But a new life is now beginning for Roz – she has been taken away, far away from her island, back to civilisation. Where she must pretend that she is a robot like any other – there to follow orders and to carry out tasks on the farm where she now works.
She knows she must never let anyone find out who she really is. And more than anything, she must find a way to escape, back to the island and her beloved Brightbill – a journey that will be fraught with danger and drama, and some very unexpected surprises…
Piccadilly Press
Overall, the book is beautifully written, and as some say, full of wisdom and big ideas. It’s not your usual middle grade fiction book, which makes it all the more worth reading!
Peter Brown is also a Caldecott Honor illustrator, so no wonder I enjoyed the illustrations that the book is peppered with.
GIVEAWAY TIME!
Book distributors Pansing are generously sponsoring a set of these two books, to one reader of this blog!
To enter, simply complete the following:
1. “Like” LilBlueBottle’s Facebook Page
2. Leave a comment on this Facebook post with your email address (or PM your email address to me) and tag one friend who might be interested in this too. (You can also share the post if you’d like!)
The giveaway ends on 2359 hrs on Fri 18 Jan 2019, and the winners will be contacted via email.
The usual terms and conditions apply.
[Congrats to Jessie Lee on winning this set of books!]
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