Book 130

Hello, Robots, by Bob Staake, Viking 2004

I heard "Hello, Robots" before I saw it, and because I was distracted, it didn't quite grab me like other Staake books did.  My then three-and-a-half year old son, however, was immediately interested and wanted to check out the book.  So we did.  Then he didn't want to bring it back to the library, so we had to buy our own copy.  Now whenever we read this book, i.e., every day and usually more than once a day, my son "reads" the refrain in a robot voice.  I get it now.  It's funny.

The illustrations are typical Bob Staake artwork, which is a shorthand way of saying that they are brilliant, funny, a bit twisted, and convey the unexpected.  The two pages showing the robots in the rain so intrigue and worry my little boy that he has painted his own scene of robots in the rain.  Good children's books entertain.  Great children's books spark the imagination.  Excellent children's books inspire.  It's pretty clear to my young son what kind of books Mr. Staake creates.