Madeleine's Childrens Lit Blog

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown 

Synopsis: Roz is a robot living in a wild, wild place. After a cargo ship mishap, hundreds of robots are sent floating off into the ocean. Roz finds herself alive for the very first time on an island surrounded by a treacherous terrain and an animal community who is equal parts afraid and hateful towards her. After an unfortunate accident involving a family of geese, Roz is forced into motherhood. Roz adopts a baby goose, Brightbill as her own. Life with her new son is difficult to navigating, but immensely rewarding for Roz. As Roz's motherly nature shines through, she starts to befriend other animals on the island, such as Chitchat the squirrel, Rockmouth the fish and Mr. Beaver. Roz's ability to build, adapt and show empathy ultimately allows her to form kinship with the other inhabitants of the island. As seasons change, Roz's life must change as well. Brightbill migrates south, and the robot is left to provide support for the animals as they fight to live through a harsh winter. The warmer weather arrives eventually, bringing Brightbill with it. Although the robot believes that the spring will bring a sense of peace and wholeness, this proves to not be true. A ship of robots flies to the island to return Roz to her factory to be refurbished then resold. After an epic battle including all the animals on the island and the robots from the ship, Roz's body is destroyed. Roz decides to get on the ship to return to the factory, but hopes to return to Brightbill and her beloved friends, where she can once again be a wild robot. 

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Critique: Overall, I really enjoyed this book! I loved the underlying conflict of the book, which was that Roz cannot "choose" animal or robot. The complications of a robot with feelings is immense, and it is interesting to continue to learn more and more about Roz as she grows as a mother and robot. Because of this aspect of the book, Roz's emotional reality is very believable as the robot begins the journey of becoming a mother, leader and friend. I found myself seeing the logic in how Roz grows to become an empathic person, through her experiences with others on the island, such as Mr. Beaver and Loudwing. This book had a very unique storyline and perspective, which I really appreciated. I have never read a book with a robot at the center of the storyline! Additionally, the relationship between Brightbill and Roz added much to the book. I was shocked when Roz took Brightbill on as her own, and their mother/son relationship was more enjoyable to read about as the storyline progressed.

 

One thing that I would have appreciated is learning more about the humans behind the invention of the robots... I think that would have made the text much more interesting. I know there is a sequel to the book, and I plan on reading it to hopefully get more background on the humans, time period, etc.

 

Before reading the book, I believed that the criteria for a good children's book was a book that allowed children to see themselves in the books the they are reading. Now, I see that a children's book is so much more than that. A high quality children's book allows kids to see themselves in the book, but be able to put themselves in the story in relation to how they see the world. A good children's book will challenge a child's worldview for the better, just as this book did. 

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Personal response: At first when I was reading this book, I was very confused about the message that was to be learned. Roz seemed rather isolated, and without interaction from other characters, it was tough to fully understand the robot. As Brightbill and Roz form a family, it's clear to see that family is a huge theme in this book. In theory, a robot and a goose seem like two very different things, but Peter Brown writes of a warm, supportive family unit with these two unlikely characters at the forefront. 

 

This book was equal parts touching and relevant to how I see the world around me everyday, whether that be in my personal life, or watching the news. In a culture where people are so divided (based on ability, ethnicity, socioeconomic levels, faith, etc.), this book contains a story of deep love and friendship for people who are out of your "comfort zone". Roz befriends animals who called her "the monster". As we get closer to people who are different than us, we have no choice but to start to see them as humans (or in Roz's case, a living being). It's hard to hate something or someone when we feel a sense of empathy and can more toward them with grace, understanding. For this reason, I believe that this book fosters social consciousness, as it deals with different animals, representing people groups. It was very cool to see that the more the animals experienced how much Roz cared for them, they began to appreciate her and her newfound wildness. 

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In my own life, the book reminded me of my own struggle to understand people who are different than me. Instead of labeling my own "monsters", I should stop fearing other people and simply listen. Learning and changing perspective is something that should always be important to everyone!

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As I read Kathy G. Short's article titled "Story as World Making", I was challenged to think about how story was intertwined in this book, as well as the non-fiction book What Makes a Monster. As I reflected on both of these books, it was clear to me that all the "monsters" at the center of these books were "monsters" because of stories we have heard about monsters. Monsters are big and scary... They are different than you... They enjoy hurting people, and have no empathy for pain... A quote that was particularly meaningful form the article said this, "Our views of the world are a web of interconnected stories, a distillation of all the stories we have shared. We connect to these interconnected past stories in order to understand new experiences (Rosen, 1986). This web of stories becomes our interpretive lens for new experiences so that story is our means of constructing the world—of world making." (Short 2012). It can be difficult to replace our prior feelings, memories or notions with new ideas. These books ask the question, what even defines monster for you? As one reads these books, particuarly The Wild Robot, you are challenged to have a new experience with monsters, and the labels we put on things, people and animals in order to get a better understanding as we all embark on our on world making. 

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Classroom application: I think that this book would be great to pair up with a social studies unit about oppression/social justice. This book allows for opportunities for writing/dicussion about different people groups and cultures. Students could reflect about how they approach people who are different than them (and other others did in the context of history), as well as discuss family diversity. This would be a great read aloud book, book club book or a solid book recommendation for a child who enjoys technology/futuristic ideas. I would recommend this book to 3rd-5th graders! The story also provides very unique illustrations, and could have some interesting art lessons as well. Another idea I had for a social studies integration could be students making a map of the island (with key, compass, directions, etc.) or a lesson about civility!

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“I'll tell you what: If I could do it all over again, I'd spend more time helping others. All I've ever done is dig tunnels. Some of them were real beauties too, but they're all hidden underground, where they're no good to anyone but me.”

         -The Wild Robot

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