Title: My Friend Robot
Written by: Sunny Soribens
Illustrated by: Hui Skipp
CD sung by: Normal Jean Wright
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What's it about?
My Friend Robot is about a girl on a mission to, along with her friends and her robot, build a tree house. Each page highlights another step in the process with simple, lyrical words and ending with the introduction to the perfect tool to be used during the process! But what happens when they come across a challenge that our robot friend doesn't have the answer to?
Who Thought what?
I read this pretty new addition to the Barefoot selection with my sixteen year old son. To be honest, I was instantly excited about the idea of a girl being the primary character in a world so typically dominated by males. When we first laid eyes on this treasure, my son was instantly drawn the the art style. I have to admit, I enjoyed it, too. It gives the feel of a child's drawing, emphasizing the feel that this could be more then just a made up story, but actually be someone's story. I was also drawn in my the bright, inviting color pallet. It kind of reminded me of a stack of Legos, which, is perfect for this industrial, STEM inspired work!
Our chief complaint focuses more on the book itself, as the flaw resolves itself for the most part when you listen to the sing along, but as you read it, at times, the story can feel a little of rhythm. This is particularly the case with end of the sentences such as "with a wedge". While these parts are spoken by Robot in the sing along, a reader would not necessarily know that if they had not yet heard the musical rendition yet. (You can find the youtube video for this sing along here: https://youtu.be/9O_eaR-8bgI )
With that being said, both my son and I truly enjoyed this book!My son was excited to see the tools being highlighted and impressed that even a pulley is used. I love that this is a great way to introduce these tools to youngsters while providing valuable information about the tools at the back of the book! I also enjoyed the illustrations of each step, simple enough to not over whelm but without losing the real life process, either.
As for our favorite parts, my son and I both agree that our favorite part is caring for the dog. While my son just loves the little fur friend, I love that this strong, creative, independent girl excelling in STEM subjects does not have to do so at the cost of compassion and empathy. It is not so much an even or, but a balancing act as it is all important for her success!
So, after experiencing this great addition to our family library, we are proud to share with you our ratings!
Big business partner: 5/5 gears
Me: 3.5/5 gears only because, while I really enjoyed this, I kind of wish there was a little less emphasis on the song and a little more on the story.
But that's what we thought about it! What did you think? Where did we get it right? How many gears would you award My Friend Robot?
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