Brown, Peter. Wild Robot, The. Peter Brown, Illus. Fiction. Little, 04/2016. 279pp. $16.99. 978-0-316-38199-4. OUTSTANDING. GRADES 3-6.
A newly manufactured robot named Roz washes up on the shore of an unpeopled island. Roz learns to survive and then eventually build a home until the technologically advanced world from which she came threatens this harmonious existence. Roz starts as one quiet being all alone, then her world becomes more complex as she becomes a mother to an orphaned gosling and begins to affect life on the island. This unique survival tale explores the boundaries between living beings and technology. What does it mean to be alive? Can wilderness and technology coexist? These are important questions for our times. Though some illustrations break up the text, its leisurely pace and quiet tone may make it challenging for some readers to get to the dramatic climax, but there is much to think about in this richly-told story.
Ann Hotta, Berkeley Public Library