Robot Dreams

Title: Robot Dreams
Author: Sara Varon
ISBN: 9781596431089
Published: 2007
Characters: Robot, Dog
Genre: fiction, graphic novel
Reading Level: N/A
Interest Level: 3rd-5th grade
Plot Summary: Robot Dreams is a wordless graphic novel about a dog who wants a friend. So Dog  orders a robot and the two quickly become the best of friends. Dog takes Robot with him everywhere, even the beach. But when Robot goes running into the ocean things take a turn for the worse. Robot lies down on the beach to dry off and he rusts so bad that he can't move. Dog doesn't know what to do and is forced to leave his friend on the beach and when he tries to go back to help him the beach has been closed off for the winter and Dog is forced to leave his friend behind. The story then follows Robot as he lay dreaming of rescues on the beach, and Dog who tries to find a friend to take the place of Dog.
Review: The story, despite having no words, is a great read. The illustrations do a wonderful job of showing the friendship between Robot and Dog and then how they both struggle with being apart. I love seeing Dog try and find new friends and losing some of them, like Snowman who melts in the spring heat. Robots story is also interesting as Robot dreams of different ways he could be rescued as he lay abandoned on the sand. There are themes of friendship and how to deal when you lose a friend, or you are no longer some one's best friend as they move on to new friends. The ending is not what the reader expects. But I like that is shows Robot moving on to a new friend and that when the to see each other in passing they look fondly on the time they have but realize that each of them have moved on. It's interesting to see just how much emotion and story telling can be told without words.
Reader's Annotation: Robot and Dog are the best of friends. But when Robot gets stuck on the beach for the winter Dog is left to make new friends and Robot is left dreaming of a way out.
Main Themes: friendship, loss
Read Alikes: Bake Sale by Sara Varon, Owly by Andy Runton
Why for Tweens? Tweens are dealing a lot with making and losing friends as they grow up and find themselves liking different things. This story is a great example of how you can make new friends and that while you may be very close to someone for a period of time this doesn't always last. But the story shows you can move on and make new friends and that doesn't mean you dont' care about your former friends. I also think tweens will enjoy the drawings and humours aspects of the story, like Dog forcing himself to eat ants with his new anteater friends.