Hello, Robots! - Hardcover

Staake, Bob

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670059056 ISBN 13: 9780670059058

Publisher: Viking Juvenile, 2004

Synopsis

Hardworking robots Blink, Zinc, Blip, and Zip run into a sudden downpour and get their circuits crossed, resulting in confusion and comedy.

About this title

Reviews

PreSchool-Grade 2–This high-energy picture book goes a long way on a little plot, thanks to a clean graphic style, a staccato rhyming text, and a surefire kid-pleaser of a subject. The titular robots are Blink, Zinc, Blip, and Zip, each of whom has a specialty (cooking, repairs, gardening, and cleaning, respectively), and a different bright color, used both in the illustrations and in the font in which the robot's name appears. When the four spend a day outside, however, disaster strikes in the form of a rainstorm and fried circuits. Blink bakes a birdhouse, Zinc repairs an apple pie, Blip rakes the window, and Zip tries to shine the grass. But soon the intrepid robots solve their problems–by switching heads. Young robot fans will thrill to this simple tale, and the strong rhythm of the text makes it an ideal candidate for storytimes.–Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Maryland School for the Deaf, Columbia
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

PreS-Gr. 1. Kids who love the idea of robots will like this book, and even those not naturally attracted to mechanicals will be drawn in by the fascinating computer-enhanced artwork that features crisp geometric shapes and Technicolor hues. The four sprightly robots (house servants all) who star in the story will keep them hooked. Tomato-red Blink cooks the meals; grape-colored Zinc fixes things made of steel; Blip the gardener is grass green; corn-and-gold Zip loves to clean. Each name appears in the text in its particular color. Part of the fun is the Teletubbies effect--watching these four colored-coded creatures interacting. But there's also a story: an electronic glitch causes the robots to slow down, forcing them to switch heads and rendering each a hybrid (now their names are dual-colored in print). Everything is thoughtfully designed, right down to the diamond-encrusted endpapers (each diamond holds one of the robots). Reminiscent of J. Otto Seibold's art, this brings the future home--literally. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Viking Juvenile
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0670059056
• ISBN 13: 9780670059058
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 40