by Peter Brown
Can a robot survive in the wilderness?
When robot Roz opens her eyes for the first time, she discovers that she is all alone on a remote, wild island. She has no idea how she got there or what her purpose is—but she knows she needs to survive. After battling a violent storm and escaping a vicious bear attack, she realizes that her only hope for survival is to adapt to her surroundings and learn from the island's unwelcoming animal inhabitants.
As Roz slowly befriends the animals, the island starts to feel like home—until, one day, the robot's mysterious past comes back to haunt her.
From bestselling and award-winning author and illustrator Peter Brown comes a heartwarming and action-packed novel about what happens when nature and technology collide.
Can a robot survive in the wilderness?
When robot Roz opens her eyes for the first time, she discovers that she is all alone on a remote, wild island. She has no idea how she got there or what her purpose is—but she knows she needs to survive. After battling a violent storm and escaping a vicious bear attack, she realizes that her only hope for survival is to adapt to her surroundings and learn from the island's unwelcoming animal inhabitants.
As Roz slowly befriends the animals, the island starts to feel like home—until, one day, the robot's mysterious past comes back to haunt her.
From bestselling and award-winning author and illustrator Peter Brown comes a heartwarming and action-packed novel about what happens when nature and technology collide.
Reviews-
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Amid sounds of crashing waves, seagulls, and otherworldly music, we meet Roz, one robot of many who floats ashore in working condition after her cargo ship sinks. "Hello. My name is Roz," she announces to each creature she meets. Narrator Kate Atwater maintains Roz's robotic voice throughout the book, but as Roz slowly earns membership in the island's animal community and "learns" their values, her machinelike voice gains warmth and friendliness. Atwater also provides fitting and distinctive character voices for each of the island's delightfully named inhabitants, which include ChitChat the squirrel, TrunkTap the woodpecker, and BrightBill--Roz's unlikely son. Even though the book has no humans, the listener will, nevertheless, ponder the nature of humans, the implications of artificial intelligence, and the meaning of being wild. L.T. Winner of AdioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
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Starred review from January 18, 2016
Brown’s middle-grade debut, an uplifting story about an unexpected visitor whose arrival disrupts the animal inhabitants of a rocky island, has a contemporary twist: the main character is a robot. A hurricane deposits Roz (short for ROZZUM unit 7134) on the island, where she is accidentally activated by a group of sea otters, who are terrified by the shiny monster awakening before their eyes. At first, Roz struggles to survive in an environment where she is treated as a frightening intruder, but after she adopts an abandoned gosling, she slowly becomes part of the island community, learning animal language and taking on motherhood and a leadership role. Brown (Mr. Tiger Goes Wild) convincingly builds a growing sense of cooperation among the animals and Roz as she blossoms in the wild. The allegory of otherness is clear but never heavy-handed, and Roz has just enough human attributes to make her sympathetic while retaining her robot characteristics. Brown wisely eschews a happy ending in favor of an open-ended one that supports the tone of a story that’s simultaneously unsentimental and saturated with feeling. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8–12. Agent: Paul Rodeen, Rodeen Literary Management. -
Starred review from January 1, 2016
Gr 3-5-The crate containing ROZZUM unit 7134 wasn't meant to be shipwrecked on an island. Roz is baffled by the wildness of the environment, but her robot brain is programmed to learn and master tasks. She camouflages herself as clumps of seaweed, meadow flowers, and fallen logs to quietly observe and learn from the flora and fauna. Scared of the unknown, the animals initially think she's a monster and run in terror. But Roz rescues a goose egg and reaches out to the animal community for help. Roz and the animals fall into a happy routine, but that bliss is broken by environmental and technological threats to the island. Set in the not-so-distant future, this thoughtful story unfolds slowly, matching Roz's pace as she observes and integrates into island life. The environmental and technological dangers introduced halfway through are impactful; they threaten the tightly knit community so carefully cultivated by Roz and the animals. The character development focuses on Roz and her adopted son, Brightbill. The supporting characters, while less fleshed out, are compelling. Short chapters and read-aloud-worthy third-person narration pair beautifully with Brown's grayscale illustrations. Grounded in striking, eye-catching compositions, his artwork combines geometric shapes and organic forms and textures, providing context and building atmosphere. The open ending leaves readers bereft for Roz and her beloved island, though it is sure to spark discussions about environmental impact and responsibility. VERDICT This strong debut middle grade novel by the acclaimed picture book author/illustrator is a first purchase for most middle grade collections.-Amy Seto Forrester, Denver Public Library
Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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December 1, 2016
Gr 3-7-Though Roz, a robot, is initially viewed with suspicion when she finds herself on an isolated island, she soon becomes part of the natural order, parenting an orphaned gosling and providing shelter for the animals. But is there really a place for her within this ecosystem? Interspersed with charming black-and-white illustrations, this sweetly quirky fish-out-of-water tale will have readers contemplating questions about life, death, consciousness, and artificial intelligence.
Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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Starred review from February 1, 2016
A sophisticated robot--with the capacity to use senses of sight, hearing, and smell--is washed to shore on an island, the only robot survivor of a cargo of 500. When otters play with her protective packaging, the robot is accidently activated. Roz, though without emotions, is intelligent and versatile. She can observe and learn in service of both her survival and her principle function: to help. Brown links these basic functions to the kind of evolution Roz undergoes as she figures out how to stay dry and intact in her wild environment--not easy, with pine cones and poop dropping from above, stormy weather, and a family of cranky bears. She learns to understand and eventually speak the language of the wild creatures (each species with its different "accent"). An accident leaves her the sole protector of a baby goose, and Roz must ask other creatures for help to shelter and feed the gosling. Roz's growing connection with her environment is sweetly funny, reminiscent of Randall Jarrell's The Animal Family. At every moment Roz's actions seem plausible and logical yet surprisingly full of something like feeling. Robot hunters with guns figure into the climax of the story as the outside world intrudes. While the end to Roz's benign and wild life is startling and violent, Brown leaves Roz and her companions--and readers--with hope. Thought-provoking and charming. (Science fiction/fantasy. 7-11)COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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Starred review from December 15, 2015
Grades 3-6 *Starred Review* In the wake of a hurricane, a crate washes up on an island's shore, where some curious otters tug it open, accidentally pressing a button as they do so. A shiny, new robotROZZUM unit 7134whirs to life. What follows is not a flash-bang robot adventure but a WALL-E-esque tale of wilderness survival and friendship. Roz is clearly not built for life in the wild, but she uses her ability to learn from her surroundings to adapt. By observing the island's animals (who initially think she is a monster), she learns to camouflage herself and eventually speak their language. When she adopts an orphaned gosling, the island's animals finally warm to her. Although there is much about the story that charms, Brown doesn't gloss over the harsher aspects of life in the wildanimals hunt each other and die of exposurebut a logic-driven robot provides the perfect way to objectively observe nature's order. One day a ship arrives, shattering the island's peace and activating Roz's survival instinctsand with good reason. Brown's first attempt at writing for an older audience is a success, and though this Caldecott honoree's final artwork was not seen, his illustrations should certainly enhance the story. Readers will take a shine to Roz, and an open ending leaves room for more robot adventures.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Brown's picture books are consistent best-sellers and critically acclaimed. Expect readers to go wild for his robot-themed novel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.) -
July 1, 2016
Robot ROZZUM unit 7134--"Roz"--crashes ashore a deserted island. She gradually acclimates herself to life in the wild among the island's creatures, who themselves must adjust to her. Very short chapters, often ending with cliffhangers, make this a natural for classroom reading-aloud. Spot art with grayscale geometric stylization of the natural world lends both mystery and sophistication.(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
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May 1, 2016
When five shipping crates from a doomed ship crash ashore on a deserted island, only one of them -- containing our robot protagonist -- is lucky enough to survive undamaged. ROZZUM unit 7134 quickly switches herself on, announces that "you may call me Roz," and begins this unlikeliest of Robinsonades. Luckily, Roz has been designed to teach herself and thus gradually acclimates herself to life in the wild among the island's creatures, who themselves must adjust to her. While Brown is honest about the harshness of wilderness life (and informative about the nature and challenges of the island's ecosystem), most of the crises in the book are relatively low-key and managed within a few chapters -- all very short and often ending with cliffhangers, making the book a natural for classroom reading-aloud. The omniscient direct-address prose is simple and declarative, but plenty of emotion is evoked by the characters, even Roz, who claims not to even have emotions, but whose mothering of an orphaned goose tells us different. In his first novel, picture-book creator Brown (Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, rev. 11/13) includes plenty of spot art whose grayscale geometric stylization of the natural world lends both mystery and sophistication to the book's look. A closing assault on the island by robots sent to retrieve Roz is a bit much, but it provides an open ending, or perhaps a hint that a sequel may be in the works. Either way, Roz is not easy to forget. roger sutton(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
