Robot Zot!

Scieszka and Shannon take a detour from their Trucktown series to pay homage to another object of childhood fascination. Robot Zot, a malevolent red contraption, crash lands into the heart of the dangerous Earth Army (a backyard) and makes his way into a fully equipped kitchen. There, its revealed that Zot is about the size of an iPod. After fending off attacks from a toaster and a television, Zot faces his toughest challenge yet: rescuing the amazing Queen of all Earth (an attractive toy cellphone). He and his sidekick (a cross between a snail and a conquistadors helmetone of a few references to the Quixotic nature of Zots mission) save the queen and escape while a bewildered homeowner surveys the aftermath and blames his dog. Scieszka laces his action-filled narrative with rhymes and repetitive robot phrases (Robot Zotnever fall./ Robot Zotconquers all!). Shannons acrylic artwork offers bright colors and plenty of humor (a slightly anthropomorphized blenders white buttons fall out like teeth under Zots attack). This comically self-deluded protagonist proves that fierce warriors of any size can still be brought to their knees by love. Ages 3-7.

Copyright 2009 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

PreS-Gr 3 - This book has everything that kids like: robots, heroics, humor, action, a little bit of destruction (inanimate objects only), and even a touch of romance. Robot Zot crashes into an alien environment (the suburbs), battles with fearsome kitchen appliances and a challenging transmitter (TV), and rescues the Queen of all Earth (a toy cell phone) before zooming off "to distant galaxies to bravely save more days." The text's rhythm is a bit odd, moving back and forth between prose and rhyme, but the short declarative sentences will make it approachable for early or reluctant readers, and the melodrama keeps it fun. Shannon's crazy, action-filled illustrations can be a little confusing, but also contain so much humor (including jokes that are absent from the text) that children will be happy to stick around and decode them. The bold, funny, over-the-top text and art are the perfect complement to one another. Seemingly inspired by sources such as "Star Wars" and "Toy Story", the most important message of this lighthearted tale is that reading really is fun."Heidi Estrin, Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel, Boca Raton, FL"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.