Friday 23 September 2016

Robo-Sauce (words by Adam Rubin, pictures by Daniel Salmieri)





I love a book with a good surprise when it's designed well and adds to the overall story. This is certainly the case with Robo-Sauce.  Not your average title, and thankfully not your average book.

We meet a boy pretending to be a robot who decides life would be better as a real robot. He would have loads of playmates and never have to go to bed or take baths. The nameless, faceless narrator then tells him about a magic robo-sauce.  So the kid makes the sauce, gulps it all down and then bam; in a two page spread bursting with colour and chalkboard style illustrations he turns into an actual robot.

He wants to do cool robot things like activate his 'robo-rocket blast' and 'robo-tornado'.  Unfortunately, it's just not that simple.  The kid, turned out of control robot, invents a robo-sauce launcher and then the trouble really begins. He starts turning everyone into robots, even his family and his dog. By the end he can't help but turn the book into a robot and that's when you get to do something very clever that leaves this book standing out from the crowd.





Saturday 10 September 2016

Llama, Llama and Anna Dewdney


I'd like to celebrate the life and work of Anna Dewdney this week. Her Llama Llama books have been a staple around our house for over six years now and I was shocked to read the news that she passed away on the 3rd of September.  It's often hard to separate the character from its creator and I think it's incredibly true in this instance. Llama Llama is bursting with personality and human emotion and if you've not read one his books then please do so now. I am saddened that his adventures will come to a premature end but celebrate the life of the person who created his stories and touched so many of us in the process.  Let's all go out and share a book with a child in honour of Anna Dewdney.