Review by Booklist Review
Zoe wants to do some pretend mountain climbing with Robot, but, as Robot says. Robot is a robot. Robots do not know how to pretend. Zoe does everything she can to teach Robot how to make believe, using hiking clothes and a fan to simulate the breeze, then finally resorting to painting special goggles for Robot. The colorful art and simple panel designs make it easy to follow the story, while different lettering for Zoe's and Robot's speeches help readers see at a glance who is talking (Robot also eschews contractions and refers to itself in the third person). Beginning readers can easily catch the visual cues that help them interpret the simple dialogue, and they will enjoy the humor of a robot dressing up and learning how to play pretend. This entry in the Balloon Toons line is a fun, easy-to-read graphic novel for beginning readers.--Kan, Ka. Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Advertised as being for "new readers," this comic-style picture book will still challenge with words like "avalanche." The story is short and cute, repeatedly discussing the importance of imagination. Zoe, a girl with a pink cap, tries to entice her robot friend to play a game of pretend with her. Why she has a robot friend is never explained, and the robot struggles with the idea of pretend because it takes everything literally. When Zoe takes it to a pile of pillows so they can "climb a mountain," the robot is more than willing to point out it's only a pile of pillows. Eventually the story goes full circle and the robot does understand the importance of imagination, and all of their combined fun is safely done inside the house. Sias provides whimsical art in the Nickelodeon/Cartoon Network style, while providing enough imagination to go along with the story. Ages 6-9. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Horn Book Review
Zoe (a girl) tries to involve Robot (an android camped out in her living room) in a game of pillow mountain climbing. Despite Zoe's best efforts, the skill of pretending doesn't come easily to Robot. Eventually he gets the hang of it, and their climbing party is a success. There is some humor, especially in the cartoon-panel illustrations, but tension is lacking. (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Stinky, by Eleanor Davis; Otto's Orange Day, by Jay Lynch and Frank Cammuso, both 2008, etc.), should find this quirky buddy story equally appealing. Simultaneously releasing is the sweetthough only a shade less charmingDoggie Dreams, by Mike Herrod, which features a young boy and his pup, reminiscent of Sherman and Mister Peabody. Jake, the somnolent title canine, takes readers through his not-so-wild dreams: of eating people food, playing in a rock-and-roll band and being a brave knight and saving a damsel (er...dogsel?) in distress. As the two books share a similar page layout and palette, readers should be able to easily transition from one tale to the next. Darling. (Graphic early reader. 4-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
