The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

The Wild Robot was written and illustrated by Peter Brown and published in 2016. This is a darling early and middle grade book. There are just enough pictures to make it a fun chapter book. The cover does not look at all babyish, and both boy and girls should like this introduction to science fiction.

A shipment of robots is sent out, but in a storm, a container of them fall overboard and end up on an island. All the robots but one are broken when their cases hit the shore, and that one robot, Roz, is accidentally activated by some curious otters.

The animals on the island think she is a monster and are afraid of her. Their fear causes Roz damage because the animals act out against her. She is a learning robot, so she learns to adapt to life on the island with the elements and animals.

This book has important themes: working together, adapting and learning, taking responsibility for your actions, finding initiative to create, and the importance of learning about those who you see as different.

This is a fun story with a lot happening, so a child will not be bored. I need to get the next book in this series called The Wild Robot Escapes.

My mom, Rolean, donated another 100 zipper bags to our book project. Thank you, Mom. This keeps the books safe at bedside and allows me to spend more money on books.

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Read to a child today even if that child is you.