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.

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown is a captivating and thought-provoking novel that blends adventure, nature, and technology in a way that appeals to readers of all ages. The story follows Roz, a robot who unexpectedly finds herself stranded on a remote island. As she navigates the challenges of survival and adapts to the natural world, she discovers the complexities of life, friendship, and what it truly means to be alive. What makes this book especially engaging is its thoughtful exploration of themes such as empathy, community, and the environment. Roz is a robot, but her journey is deeply human—her growth and learning reflect the importance of connection and understanding, even in the most unlikely circumstances. My 10-year-old daughter absolutely loved this novel. She was drawn to Roz’s transformation from a cold, programmed machine to a caring, sentient being who forms bonds with the island’s creatures. The mix of humor, adventure, and heart made it an easy read for her, while still offering depth that sparked some great conversations about nature, technology, and what it means to belong. The illustrations by Peter Brown, which complement the story, were a big hit with my daughter too. They added a rich visual element to the narrative and helped bring the world of the island and its inhabitants to life in a way that made the book even more engaging. Overall, The Wild Robot is a perfect choice for young readers, offering both entertainment and valuable lessons. It’s the kind of book that not only keeps kids hooked but also encourages them to think about the world in a deeper way. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a unique and heartfelt story that both children and adults can enjoy.

My preschooler and first grade homeschoolers are loving this read aloud! My first grader can read it independently, but we choose to read it as a family instead. It's very age appropriate and has a unique, imaginative storyline of a robot who becomes like a living animal when she is stranded on an island. I am charmed by the robots character as she wins over the forest and even adopts a gosling as her own! The chapters are very short, typically spanning 2 or 3 pages. There are just enough illustrations to occupy my preschooler too. I highly recommend this book and can't wait to read the rest of the series.

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.

A review from my 10 year old: This book is about a robot named Roz, short for Rozzum, a robot that was supposed to be transported to a factory but the ship was sadly sunken and she was washed up on a island. She had to learn to survive in a place that a robot would never be in. And she finds many different techniques to do so. The robot goes on many exciting adventures and gets lots of friends that you might not expect including her own adopted son who happens to be a duck named Brightbill whose family was crushed by an avalanche. She was living a happy life until her creators find out where she is and don't like that she is living in the forest. I think this book is about the interaction between nature and technology. On his blog Peter Brown wrote, “Back in 2008, while working on a picture book called The Curious Garden… I loved imagining scenes of nature living in surprising places. And that got me thinking about scenes of unnatural things living in surprising places” ([...]). The robot is a piece of technology but she can learn to live in the wild which makes me think that one of the meanings of this book is that people today can still stop pollution and destruction of the natural world. I also think that the author was trying to tell the readers that no matter who you are you can do anything. The robot was having trouble in the forest at first but she started to learn and get better by watching animals. I also think that the book is about not giving up. Even after all the animals were scared of her Roz kept trying to be friendly and finally became friends with all the animals. One amazing thing about this book is the artwork witch makes sense because Peter Brown was an artist before he was a writer. Another thing that I liked about this book is that it makes me feel sad but gave me hope that things will get better. The third thing that makes this book unique is that it has very creative ideas. In one of the scenes in the book Roz loses her foot to a bear and then cant walk. And then she asked the beavers to make her a new one out of wood. That is one of the many creative scenes in the book. This book was very good in my opinion. It was one of my favorite books I've ever read and i would very much recommend it. This book is creative, well written, and interesting. I think that it is a great book and think its definitely worth reading. I don't want to give away the ending but is very dramatic and emotional. Roz has to draw on all of her friendships and skills she has learned from them to survive.

Such a good book! Bought as a gift only to find out he’s obsessed with the movie! I had no idea there was a movie! He wants the other books now too!

My two year-old son was obsessed with the movie. We watched it about 10 times in a month. So when we started reading it to him overnight, it became our ritual. We loved more realistic situations we found our robot in. We loved how wild end free the book felt. It is a wonderful story that will warm your heart.

I have now read this 4 times and adopted it in my ELA class. It is so important and everyone should read it even if just to learn a few good life lessons. It has so much to offer.