Wild Robots!

As my kids are getting older, I'm discovering how many wonderful books there are out there to read out loud to them.  While I've loved sharing some of my childhood favorites with them (anything by Roald Dahl), it's been wonderful to discover new books together.  While shopping at an independent bookstore in Truckee, Word After Word Bookstore, I purchased The Wild Robot, a book I'd seen many times before.  Of course, I love the cover - and I am a sucker for an enticing bookstore display!

The Wild Robot is a beautifully written story of a robot who finds herself shipwrecked on what appears to be an uninhabited island.  The Robot (who comes to call herself Roz) is a quick study, as she finds herself adapting to survive in her new environment.  She learns how to acclimate to the ever-changing weather, and how to win over the animals on the island - teaching them also how to adapt to their surroundings.  The book explores the constant struggle between nature and machine - how they can each help each other to become more "human" and more "humane" - and how becoming more wild is the secret to living one's best life.  I read this to my 6-year-old daughters who loved all the animals in the book and their interactions with Roz, but also felt the profound sadness in Roz's desire to belong.

After falling in love with Roz in The Wild Robot, my girls and I were eager to see what happens next in The Wild Robot Escapes.  The factory robots that created Roz has finally located her on the deserted island, and they are not leaving until she is destroyed or she comes back with them to the factory to be reprogrammed.  In a heart-wrenching scene, Roz is torn from her animal family and brought back to civilization where she is ripped about and reconstituted to become a service robot for a farmer and his two young children.  But, despite the forced changes, Roz remembers who she once was. She works to win over the trust of the children, and to formulate a plan to return to the island.  This book wasn't as fun for my girls - not as many wonderful interactions with animals - but there were some tender moments between Roz and the children.  My girls also feared that Roz might not make it back to the island, and how sad it would be if she were separated forever from her family - even if she managed to make a new family.  Throughout, this book created an overwhelming sense of dread, which was a bit tough to read through night after night.  But, again, it explored some interesting themes about industrialization and society's (over)reliance on machines.  Roz is a wonderful and easy to love character - we were rooting for her all the way!