Our trip to visit children and grandchildren included plans to read aloud The Wild Robot Escapes, by Peter Brown. It is brand new, and the sequel to The Wild Robot, an outstanding book and one of my absolute favorites.
Within a few hours of arriving, I was ready to read aloud and so were the children– ages 10, 8, and 6. Hubby wanted to listen, too. But, things did not go as expected. Not at all.
We got to the end of chapter one, page four. The last sentences read:
“But this was no ordinary robot. This was ROZZUM unit 7134. You might remember her old life on a remote, wild island. Well, Roz’s new life was just about to begin.”
The eight-year-old asked, “Who is Roz? What was the wild island?”
He hadn’t read the book. Neither had the six-year-old. Like me, the ten-year-old had not only read the book, she knew it ranked among the best. I explained Roz and also the island to her siblings, with a brief overview of the story. That only led to more questions. At last she said, “Grammy, let’s read the first book.” Yes!”, shouted her siblings. So, we snuggled in to read The Wild Robot.
The book is just as exciting and perhaps better, when reading it the second time around. That’s what happens with good books. They’re meant to be read again and again.
Roz is a robot, one of many, assembled and packed into crates, and put on a cargo ship. The ship crashes and sinks, and only five crates wash ashore onto an island. All eventually break apart except the crate that contains Roz. Curious otters accidentally activate the robot, and thus begins the story. Roz slowly learns about the island and the inhabitants. It is with great trepidation that the animals get to know Roz and begin to except her as anything but a monster.
“Grammy, why are the other animals so mean to Roz? She likes them. She’s nice,” asked the six-year-old.
A question that is music to my ears. It opens the door to talking about diversity and acceptance.
The book builds on Roz and the island and the animals, starting with the last surviving gosling egg– Roz accidentally killed the two geese and their eggs. Relationships develop with different animals in a way that incorporates adventure and also life lessons into the story. The reader feels strong ties with Roz and has a sense of understanding nature and the way of the world. A cliff hanger ending is perfect. The Wild Robot is adventure, nature, diversity, robots, and animals all wrapped up into one great story.
Amazon’s 5-star review calls the book “Wall-E meets Hatchet“:
“When robot Roz opens her eyes for the first time, she discovers that she is alone on a remote, wild island. She has no idea how she got there or what her purpose is–but she knows she needs to survive. After battling a fierce storm and escaping a vicious bear attack, she realizes that her only hope for survival is to adapt to her surroundings and learn from the island’s unwelcoming animal inhabitants.
As Roz slowly befriends the animals, the island starts to feel like home–until, one day, the robot’s mysterious past comes pack to haunt her. A heartwarming and action-packed novel about what happens when nature and technology collide.”
We went to Barnes & Noble the next day. Look what we saw:
Both books were displayed together. Next visit, The Wild Robot Escapes will be our read aloud. Can’t wait!
Jennie
A Teacher's Reflections 
Nice recovery.
Thanks, Dan.
Terrific story, Jennie. Your grandkids are very fortunate to have you.
Thank you, John. Oh, how I love reading aloud great books! When it’s with my grandchildren, that’s the best.
I can imagine.
🙂
How wonderful that your grandchildren want you to still read to them. Nothing could be better. Glad you were able to find book one.
Yes, Marlene. Nothing could be better, or more wonderful. This book is a winner! Thank you.
Jennie, I love the way you keep featuring books that I don’t know. I thought I knew most of the great books. You are like a magician.
Thank you, Robbie. I feel the same way about the books you feature. Typically I don’t know them either. It must be be because we live in different countries and our books don’t often ‘cross the ocean’ so to speak. Just a wild guess. Michael would LOVE The Wild Robot! Has he read Hatchet?
Hi Jennie, no, Hatchet is not a book I am familiar with. I will look it up on Amazon us. I do agree that books are quite cultural. My family is of English extraction so the books I grew up with are mainly English writers.
Hatchet is every twelve-year-old boy’s favorite. I promise Michael will love it. Interesting how cultural books can be. A shame, I think.
I had never heard of these two books, and you make them sound magical indeed. When my grandson is a little older, I will get them for him.
Best wishes, Pete.
Thank you, Pete. Highly recommend for your grandson! Best to you.
Sounds like the kids had some great questions!! I love hearing how children respond to books for them. There’s no better test for anything than to run it passed a child! You’ll definitely get complete honesty and no holds barred if you missed something or didn’t explain something well! 💖💖
You are absolutely right! A good book stimulates questions. No holes barred. That’s why I love chapter reading. Thanks so much!
Jennie, sounds like a wonderful book that even adults would enjoy. Your photo with your grandchildren is priceless.
Thanks, Steve. Yes, adults (including me!) enjoy the book immensely. So glad you enjoyed this, and the adorable photo.
Hi, Jennie, How wonderful that you have this memorable time with your grandchildren! You might enjoy Peter Brown’s story of how he created The Wild Robot Escapes. I always think it’s interesting to know the “story behind the story”. http://www.peterbrownstudio.com/books/the-wild-robot-escapes/wild-robot-escapes-finally/ Thank you for sharing your sweet story! – Susan
Oooo…thank you so much, Susan! I’m glad you enjoyed this, and I can’t wait to read how he created the book. 🙂
I’ve not heard of these books Jennie!
I hope to be a granny reader in the future!!!!
I don’t know why they’re not well known in England. You will be an outstanding granny reader one day, Ritu! 🙂
I’ll look up the books, and THANK you Jennie!
You are welcome! 🙂
I’ve got both of these in our library’s collection, but I’ve yet to read them. I’ll have to fix that. Good to know that the books are good for six-year-olds, too; and so much fun to see you reading to your grandkids!
Thanks, Marcia. You will love the books! I’m halfway through Escape and can hardly put it down. I read the first one to my library group last year, first and second graders. They’re still talking about it. Glad you liked the pic with the grandkids. 🙂
Ah Robot-Stories…how wonderful to find them in the pages of a well-written book, captivating this gen in literature as well as technology.
You’re a great granma!
Yes, it is wonderful. I loved Amazon’s review, nature colliding with technology, “Wall-E” meeting “Hatchet”. Thank you, Laura. Reading a great story aloud to grandchildren doubles the pleasure of a good book.
Thanks for sharing this, Jennie. It is amazing how reading aloud to children awakens and ignites their curiosity and imagination!
You’re welcome, John. It really does. Reading aloud is the best thing I do for children.
Jennie, your description of the visit alone is a pure delight. I enjoyed hearing about the books too. TGIF hugs!
I’m so glad it delighted you, Teagan. Thank you. TGIF! 🙂
Really glad to see this post. I read The Wild Robot, but was afraid to give it to a six-year-old because I wasn’t sure if he would find what happened to the robot (and the robots at the beginning of the book) too scary. But I see that I shouldn’t have doubted that small child would love this book.
I’m so glad that you can reconsider giving this book to a six-year-old. It wasn’t scary to a child; it was actually more curious and interesting. And that sparked the interest throughout the book. Very well written, as you know. Thanks!
Thank you for introducing us to Roz, Jennie. Another addition to my children’s TBR, which will be shared with the quads and trips ❤
Roz is the best. This is definitely a TBR. Thank you, Tina.
Couldn’t agree more about the best books needing to be read more than once! 😊
Yes! Parents may think otherwise and not realize it’s a big deal, but children want to hear the stories over and over. And that’s a good thing! Thank you, Sarah.
Those grandkids are sure lucky to have you for a grandmother. Of course, you are lucky to have them as well.
That’s so nice, Darlene. Thank you! 😊
I’m going to have to check out the “Wild Robot” books! The children at school will love them!
Thanks! The children will absolutely love them.
What a treat that was for you Jennie. You’re always teaching and inspiring your students, it’s even more beautiful you have that with your grandkids who evidently share your passion for books. 🙂 xx
Yes, it is even better to share with the grandkids. A great book. Thank you, Debby!
❤