Science Comics: Robots and Drones: Past, Present, and Future - Hardcover

Scott, Mairghread

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1626727937 ISBN 13: 9781626727939

Publisher: First Second, 2018

Synopsis

In factories! In the sky! In your cars and phones! In your own home! Robots are everywhere! And they have been for a lot longer than you might realize.

From tea-serving robots in feudal Japan to modern rovers exploring Mars, robots have been humanity's partners, helpers, and protectors for centuries! Join one of the world's earliest robots, a mechanical bird named Pouli, as he explores where robots came from, how they work, and where they’re going in this informative and hilarious new book! Ever dreamt of building your own best friend? It might be easier than you think!

Every volume of Science Comics offers a complete introduction to a particular topic―dinosaurs, coral reefs, the solar system, volcanoes, bats, flying machines, and more. These gorgeously illustrated graphic novels offer wildly entertaining views of their subjects. Whether you're a fourth grader doing a natural science unit at school or a thirty year old with a secret passion for airplanes, these books are for you!

About this title

About the Author

Mairghread Scott is an animation and comic book writer. Her animation includes Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Ultimate Spider-Man: Web Warriors, and more. Her published books include Marvel Universe Guardians of the Galaxy, Transformers: Till All Are One, Transformers: Windblade, Wonder Woman 75th Anniversary Special #1 and The Secret on the Other Side (also from First Second).

Jacob Chabot is an Eisner Award―nominated and New York Times― bestselling cartoonist. He is best known for his work on all-ages comics like Spongebob Comics, The Simpsons, and his creator-owned book The Mighty Skullboy Army.

From School Library Journal

Gr 4–6—In this entry in the series, a mechanical bird reputed to have been invented in the fourth century BCE squires readers through a history of robotics and looks at the evolving role of robots, drones, and artificial intelligence (AI) in work and daily life. The narrator painstakingly explains that true robots are a specific type of machine designed to perform tasks in response to outside stimuli and traces their development from a hypercute 17th-century Japanese toy called a "karakuri ningyo" to today's smart homes and self-navigating aerial drones. The bird also offers general descriptions of the components in build-it-yourself robot kits, plus assorted references to robots in film and science fiction. Military drones, the purported danger of autonomous AI, and even AI rights receive glancing mentions, but troublesome issues of privacy, data theft, and jobs lost to automation go unexplored. In covering such a large subject, the narrative occasionally reads like a stodgy lecture ("Proto-robots are referenced in the Iliad"), but the sequential art—which features a diverse cast of young STEM enthusiasts, including one wearing a hijab—infuses the discourse with life. VERDICT Readers in upper elementary grades, especially young makers and those with a particular interest in technology, will be drawn to this title, but it would be wise to have more judicious treatments of the topic on hand to counter its relentlessly optimistic viewpoint.—John Peters, Children's Literature Consultant, New York

About this edition

• Publisher: First Second
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1626727937
• ISBN 13: 9781626727939
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 128
• Illustrator: Chabot Jacob