The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The audience for this book is upper elementary, but I can see middle schoolers enjoying this book. It is very much a storytelling experience; the narrator speaks directly to the reader, asking patience and compassion for the unraveling of the tale. For that reason, I enjoyed the experience of being told a story, knowing the narrator was taking me through the robot’s adventure of a year on an island. I felt like it was a know to story-time of elementary days, which junior high students really seem to enjoy. It is a story about community, belonging, survival, and, above all, what it means to be alive and co-exist, which is where I think the middle school readers come in. The intersection of natural and artificial intelligence in this narrative creates gaps for inquiry,which I think small group discussions can illuminate.