Little Robot

Hatke (the Zita the Spacegirl books) is in full command of his sweet-tempered sequential storytelling style, with a gift for fusing classic story elements into new creations. His nameless heroine is a curly-haired, brown-skinned girl in a baggy shift dress. Escaping her trailer park and finding her way into a nearby overgrown junkyard, she discovers a shiny robot who's just her size. With expertly paced dueling viewpoints, Hatke draws her introducing the robot to the world, E.T.-style. "You can pet him," she says, handing the robot a cat (it doesn't go well). Simultaneously, the robot management system notes that Little Robot is missing and dispatches a giant seek-and-recover robot to find it. Early on, the girl acquires a tool kit and becomes proficient with it, fixing Little Robot and, later, incapacitating the finder robot and its allies. The action heats up quickly, and readers will race ahead to see what will happen to robot and girl. It's an adventure story, but it's a maker story, too, with a special spotlight on the girl's ingenuity. Ages 6-9. Agent: Judith Hansen, Hansen Literary Agency. (Sept.)

Gr 2-4--Once again Hatke delivers a delightful graphic novel with a positive female role-model, fun non-humans, and a message of friendship. When a brown-skinned cherubic girl chances upon a robot that looks like a trash can, she finds a friend worth protecting. Each day they explore the junkyard and the surrounding forest, with the little girl acting as a guide to new sights and concepts. Both love playing together, but when the robot wants to leave, things go downhill. It is up to this resourceful girl to save him from the bad bots of the factory. With her trusty wrench in hand, she repairs parts, builds traps, and fixes hearts. Like the characters in the movie Wall-E, these robots have a limited range of facial expressions, so they "speak" and emote in sound effects. Changes in font size, punctuation, and position play just as large a role in comprehension as body language and composition. It's Hatke's skill in communicating the narrative and emotional complexities through visual cues that makes this such a strong offering. Though the girl and her bot start their journeys separately and in silence, by the end, music and friends surround them. Young readers, and those new to graphica, will find the easy-to-follow illustrations, large borderless panels, and steady pace welcoming. VERDICT A pleasantly colorful adventure of discovery and friendship. Highly recommended.--Rachel Forbes, Oakville Public Library, Ontario, Canada

"Hatke's got a knack for early elementary graphic novels, and the unnamed protagonist here is just as endearing, memorable, and clever as Zita (from Zita the Spacegirl)." —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books