Review by Booklist Review
Masiello encourages readers to follow his lead in drawing the hulking, clumsy robots that fascinated him as a child. The book's opening pages show basic shapes and lines as well as a Spare Parts Warehouse indicating how to a draw a number of robot upgrades such as switches and gauges. Many kids will go directly to the 10 colorful robots featured, choosing one to draw and following the step-by-step directions for re-creating designs such as Zoidbot and Walking TinCanBot. The excellent appended Resources page recommends robot-themed books and websites. A fun addition to the Ralph Masiello's Drawing Book series.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
As with previous titles in this series, Masiello offers budding artists a step-by-step tutorial on how to draw kid-friendly subjects-this time, robots. After beginning with a basic "Simplibot," made up of rectangles, squares, and circles, the robots build in complexity, with additions like electrical outlets, keyholes, and antennae, all meticulously labeled in a "Spare Parts Warehouse." The "upgraded" robots, colored in various media and paired with a simple phrase or verse, include "Sparky Springbot," with pincers and slinkylike legs, and "Bakerbot," who has a small oven for a chest. Masiello's recipe is light and appealing, offering just the right amount of guidance. Ages 6-9. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-5-Masiello begins with a discussion of how to use circles, squares, and other basic forms to draw robot parts like switches, plugs, and antennae. He includes a brief discussion of drawing and coloring tools and shows young artists how to draw eight different robots, such as the "Bakerbot," "Ovalbot," and "Bellybot." The robots are shown in progressive steps of completion opposite a full-page illustration of the finished product, fully colored, and with a short, lighthearted caption. Sidebars with suggestions for more advanced embellishments appear on some pages. The instructions are simple enough for primary-grade students to have success without adult assistance. Masiello's creations are humorous, old-fashioned, and two dimensional. Artists who are looking for the more sophisticated, warrior-type robots will need to look elsewhere; there are no swords or laser guns here. Children interested in the friendly, playmate kind of robot will enjoy Masiello's offering.-Donna Cardon, Provo City Library, UT (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Young artists can start with basic shapes and progress through simple sequential steps to create a series of imaginative cartoon robots. The doodling becomes increasingly more complex as the lessons continue, with color and gadgetry added that will delight young technology buffs. Books and websites listed direct readers interested in building actual robots. (c) Copyright 2012. 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
Masiello elegantly and joyfully taps into a thankfully enduring artistic tradition: the step-by-step technique that walks readers by hand through the creation of an image on paper.Just as he has done previously for dinosaurs, dragons and bugs (Ralph Masiello's Dragon Drawing Book, 2007, etc.), here he guides young artists in the creation of robots" 'bots," in the vernacular, as in "Squarehead Thinbot," "Sparky Springbot" and "Zoidbot." The artist starts by introducing readers to lines and shapesnothing is taken for grantedfrom which can be drawn an elemental robot. He then provides a serious handful of "spare parts," which can be used to add detail to readers' creations. The spare-part section is good for sparking the imagination, but the best sparks are thrown by the finished products, which are cool in their radical colors and otherworldliness but not daunting (even if readers are not likely to attain his level of gradients and shadings). Robots are by nature somewhat scary, with their dead, sharklike eyes and sharp edges, and Masiello keeps that spooky quality. But he also knows how to invest them with humor: witness the "Bakerbot," with a muffin cooking in its belly.Brainstorminga book that ought to launch a thousand robots. (Nonfiction. 6-9)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
