Beep Boop: 5 Robot Picture Books

Boy + Bot, by Ame Dyckman and Dan Yaccarino
I hope that when my son first goes for a walk in the woods and encounters a robot, they will become best friends just like the boy and robot in this book. You never forget your first robot, or so I’ve heard. Of course, my husband and I will need to meet his inventor. Maybe we’ll all sit down for some applesauce and oil; doughnuts and lug nuts; wine; beer; coffee, and whatever it is that scientists like to eat and drink.

Wendel and the Robots, by Chris Riddell
On the quest to design the perfect tidying robot, adorable inventor Wendel throws a lot of failed experiments down the scrap chute. The Wendelbot appears to be just the robot Wendel was seeking, but the robot (no surprise, if you know anything about robots) takes his cleaning directive too far, compacting everything in the lab and throwing poor Wendel down the chute to the scrap heap. What’s the only solution to an out-of-control robot running amok in your lab? Why, more robots, of course!

Clink, by Kelly DiPucchio and Matthew Myers
Feeling outdated and dusty, robot Clink laments his only programming is to play music and make (burnt) toast. The other robots in the store appear much more attractive to customers, and Clink’s attempts to do what they do range from amusing to disastrous. Things look really bleak for him when his all of his kind robot friends get sold and no one seems interested in rusty, old-fashioned Clink. Using some new tricks to get a picky, harmonica-playing customer’s attention, Clink nearly ends up in the trash! Fortunately the customer sees just what he’s looking for in musical, toast-burning Clink, and they go happily home together to dance.

If You’re a Robot and You Know It, by David A. Carter and Musical Robot
This is a multimedia collaboration between human pop-up book wizard David A. Carter and human music makers Musical Robot, and the idea is to listen to the song (a free download) while exploring the book. Based on the classic song “If You’re Happy and You Know It” (but only click if you don’t know it), If You’re a Robot…implores you to move in the ways that robots move: clapping hands, jumping and beeping, shooting lasers out of your eyes…The robots on each page do just what the song directs; that’s what makes them good robots, and they’re having fun doing it. I just want to know one thing: what am I supposed to do  if I’m a robot and I don’t know it?

Robo-Sauce, by Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri
I could tell you about this book, and I might, but it’s also terribly important and very entertaining to check out the book trailer for Robo-Sauce. Did you watch the video? Good. Then you already know the dangers of bringing a book about a boy who turns everything into robots that turns into a book about robot world into your home. You’ve been warned.