The arrival of a new baby always turns things upside down even if, like this family, you are robots. Cathode can’t wait to meet her new baby brother but assembling little Flange proves trickier than anyone expected. Her mum and dad have a go before calling Uncle Manifold – Cathode notes he doesn’t follow the instructions or install the updates – and even as more relatives arrive, Flange is still malfunctioning. The chaos grows until Cathode and the family’s dog Sprocket find a way to distract the grown-ups long enough for Cathode to calmly get to work with her toolbox. The story is wonderfully funny and the robot family warm and loving, for all their metal bodies and rivets. As they finally settle down for the night, there’s one last surprise in baby Flange’s box too. Super!
In this hilarious gem from triple Caldecott winner David Wiesner, it's big sister to the rescue when a new baby is delivered to a family of robots and the adults are flummoxed by technical difficulties.
A new baby's arrival is a big moment in any family, even a family of robots. Award winner David Wiesner captures the excitement and fanfare when baby Flange appears-as a crate full of components. The adults bungle the process of assembling Flange, with catastrophic results. Big sister Cathy, with her handy toolbox and advanced knowledge of robotics and IT, hasn't been allowed to help, but in the ensuing chaos she calmly clears up the technical difficulties and bonds with her new baby brother. A shout-out for girl scientists and makers, Robobaby is an eye-opening and engaging blend of the familiar and the fantastic.
The new baby book get a futuristic twist in this story of a robot family who order a state of the art, easy to assemble new addition but are flummoxed by technical challenges. -- Fiona Noble - The Bookseller
Against the how-things-work mayhem, smooth fields of color, streamlined panel artwork, and fastidious speech bubble typography make every spread elegant. - Publishers Weekly
Author
About David Wiesner
David Wiesner is one of the best-loved and most highly acclaimed picture book creators in the world. His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages and have won numerous awards. Three of the picture books he both wrote and illustrated became instant classics when they won the prestigious Caldecott Medal: Tuesday in 1992, The Three Pigs in 2002, and Flotsam in 2007, making him only the second person in the award's long history to have won three times. He has also received two Caldecott Honors, for Free Fall and Sector 7.
Wiesner grew up in suburban New Jersey, known to his classmates as "the kid who could draw." He went on to become a student at the Rhode Island School of Design, where he was able to commit himself to the full-time study of art and to explore further his passion for visual storytelling. He soon discovered that picture books were the perfect vehicle for his work.
Wiesner generally spends several years creating each new book. Many versions are sketched and revised until the story line flows smoothly and each image works the way he wants it to. He creates three-dimensional models of objects he can't observe in real life, such as flying pigs and lizards standing upright, to add authenticity to his drawings. David Wiesner lives with his family outside Philadelphia.
