The Wild Robot (Volume 1)

I've heard a lot about this book. And buzz can either be accurate or not. I'm thankful to report in this case, The Wild Robot was worth the read. This was such a cute little read, and now I'd like to see the movie to see if it's as good as they say! I picked this one up as part of my middle grade market research. Several booksellers said kids were eating this one up and they were flying off the shelves. After pulling it out and setting it on my nightstand, I figured I'd just see how many pages and chapters there were - give the book my standard once-over before I dive into it the next day. Lo and behold, I read the first chapter and then looked up and realized I was 50 pages in. Not only is the story engaging and the setting a fun mismash of nature and technology, but the short, focused chapters kept me turning pages. I think I read the book in three sittings - and honestly may have read it in one if I didn't really need to go to bed like an adult. This would be good for reluctant readers or bedtime stories for your kids. Each chapter is bite-sized and leaves you wanting more. There's a great sense of momentum as you read. And the illustrations are just as quaint as the story itself. I found myself incredibly invested in this little island of animals and delighted by a few twists and turns in the story, too. I am definitely really glad I read this one and now very curious about the second one. I would certainly recommend this one. It's a heartfelt, adventurous, quick and quirky little read. And its themes of understanding, compassion, survival, persistence, forgiveness, the cycle of nature, and service to others could foster some cool conversations with kiddos. This one's done right. Middle grade, so no swearing, no romance, a little bit of nature violence and a little bit of robot violence. I'd feel comfortable giving this to most kids. There are a few deaths as a natural part of the cycle of life, so if you have a kid very sensitive to that, it may be worth reading first to judge for yourself if your kid is ready for this (which should always be the default case anyway). But nothing here was near as traumatic as Charlotte's Web or Old Yellar, so I would consider it pretty mild personally.

This is our newest favorite series. We've read it twice. It's such a good story! The book is better than the movie (of course) but it's just so sweet and capitivating. You will love it.

Great read! Story moved at a great pace and kept us engaged. My son and I really enjoyed reading it together. It sparked great conversations and had just the right mix of excitement and heart. We’re both looking forward to finishing the rest of the series and seeing what happens next!

I'll start off by saying that my 5 year old daughter loved this book, but I think as a work of literature, it could have been much improved from both a storytelling and structure perspective. This story is about life and in any story about life, there is joy, anger, sadness, insecurity, death, discovery, and love. This book has all of these and I found that none of these topics were too deep or too difficult for my 5 year old. Our robot "heroine" starts out as a piece of machinery and software for brains, but slowly, the wilderness starts to seep into her electronic brain and she becomes more wild as she befriends the creatures of the island. Instead of speaking the language of her makers, she learns the language of the animals (and each animal has a slightly different language -- my daughter was particularly amused by the fish) and soon overcomes her image as a monster. Through her interactions with the other animal inhabitants of the island, she learns what it means to be a friend and what it means to be a mother. And while our robot heroine Roz is not alive, she becomes "alive" and finds that the island has become her home; the animals have become her family and friends. The story explores many of themes of community and friendship and I think these topics are particularly suited for young kids who may be changing schools or starting school for the first time and meeting new friends. They may feel like outsiders, like an alien coming into a new environment with so much to learn and discover. Why don't they like me? What if they think I'm weird? What if no one wants to play with me? How can I overcome our differences? What if people pick on me? How can I make new friends? These are all themes explored in this book as our robot heroine spends her year on the island. My criticism of the book as a piece of literature is mostly a reflection of the plot turn at the end. The beginning of the book to me reminded me a bit of My Neighbor Totoro -- hear me out. It's a story of observation, discovery, exploration, and making friends; it doesn't need conflict to capture the attention of the reader because we are enthralled by the journey Roz has taken from a machine to a mechanical creature of the wilderness. I loved this aspect of the book; I loved the inquisitiveness of our robot "heroine" and the story of transformation and discovery. But unlike Totoro, this story ends with an action sequence that felt out of out place; it simply wasn't necessary for this story -- in my opinion -- and the tonal shift from the first 3/4 of the book to the last 1/4 of the book is thematically jarring. It's not that the ending is too dark or that it's too violent, but it simply doesn't match the tone of the rest of the story. I also found that the verbal imagery was somewhat lacking compared to other books I've recently read to my daughter. Compare this work to Owl Moon (albeit a short story) or Tale of Despereaux or The Magician's Elephant and you can really feel the lack of atmosphere and sense of imagery, which is a shame, considering the setting and the first-time experiences of our robot heroine. The wonderfully drawn pictures every chapter or two do make up for that to a degree, but I think that Mr. Brown missed an opportunity to create a more vivid sense of discovery and wonder. Still, I would recommend this book for children of all ages. I don't think kids are ever too young to talk about what it means to be alive (and consequently, what it means to be dead). From the perspective of grammar and lexical complexity, I found it fairly easy for my 5 year old pre-school daughter to absorb; most kids getting ready to start formal schooling will have no problem grasping the plot and structure of the story.

My 12 years old son liked it 👍

my class and i loved this book. it had a great story line and very descriptive language. thank a lot

Best Sci-fi book for kids of growing age She likes it and illustration is so much heart warming

This is a great read for younger kids as introduction to long-form/novel book. My 7-year-old son enjoyed the story of a robot thrived and survived in a remote island. The use of animals as characters and illustrations added his engagement into the story. Although the book is lengthy - 80 short chapters - it is highly recommended for exploring.

My son and I are reading it together. It sometimes makes me cry when I read it loud for him. You'd feel so attached to this robot if you're a guardian. Kids would love it feeling the connections between them.