My Review of The Series "The Wild Robot" by Peter Brown

Brown's "The Wild Robot" is an ideal series for the whole family to enjoy together!

This summer will go down in history for my family as the summer we all began enjoying audiobooks together. Ever since I was a little girl, one of my favorite communal activities was reading books together. Not just simply reading books in book club fashion, where everyone goes their separate ways to read the same book, and then convenes to discuss the book everyone read. I’m talking about sitting down together and taking turns reading a book out loud, or enjoying an audiobook together. There is something so unique and exquisite about simultaneously experiencing a book.

And that was what happened for the first time this summer with me, my husband, and our two boys who are six and (now five!) years old. We all listened to The Wild Robot series by Peter Brown together. Mostly, we listened to this audiobook series when we were in the car together on day trips or longer road trips. We also listened at home together in the evenings.

The Wild Robot is a story set against the backdrop of the future, where humans heavily rely on and interact with robots for their everyday lives. Think Pixar’s Wall-E except earth is still intact and humans are healthy and active instead of being virtually immobile in floating chairs and wholly dependent on technology. The author optimistically paints the world of the future as improved thanks to technology, especially robots, but also more complicated in some respects. The dynamic between technology and humans is more of a partnership than a struggle for domination or a passive quiet relinquishing into dependent idiocy.

The story of this series centers around a robot, ROZZUM Unit 7134, a service robot designed to assist with virtually any task a human might need help with, and the main character of this story. When ROZZUM Unit 7134 or Roz finds herself washed up on an uninhabited island after her shipping craft is wrecked in a hurricane, she has to push the limits of her survival programming to navigate the wilderness without being destroyed.

The series includes three books: The Wild Robot, The Wild Robot Escapes, and The Wild Robot Protects. The author of this series, Peter Brown, is a children’s author and illustrator. One thing that stood out for me about these books was the illustrations. Obviously, when reading the audiobook, we didn’t have the privilege of seeing all the illustrations. But when we purchased the hard copies, I was stunned by the illustrations that saturate these books.

“Maybe Roz really was defective, and some glitch in her programming had caused her to accidentally become a wild robot. Or maybe Roz was designed to think and learn and change; she had simply done those things better than anyone could have imagined.”

-The Wild Robot

This story is beautifully crafted in a way that captivates adults and children alike. These books had me and my husband laughing out loud, crying, and audibly cheering for the characters. In terms of appropriate content for children, this book is 100% safe. There were never any elements, even implied elements, that I felt were inappropriate for children. However, the book doesn’t feel childish. It delves into some pretty deep subject matter. In a way, it feels incredibly reverent of the depth of children’s intellect, curiosity, and imagination, while also honoring their innocence.

A couple of the bigger themes this series addresses includes:

• Violence vs. Pacifism

• Environmentalism and Stewardship

• Adoption

• Death and Loss

While this book has science-fiction elements, it feels more fantastical than anything, as it involves robots communicating with animals and humans. There are stark distinctions between Roz and humans, and yet there are a lot of similarities because Roz was designed by a human for humans.

The author handles a lot of big questions in this book with an appropriate amount of nuance, and with a magical amount of optimism that leaves children ultimately believing in the inherent ability to further good in this world and care for the people they love. Even as the author asks big questions and grapples with cosmic problems, it never feels like an agenda is being pushed or that the author is trying to railroad the reader into a particular solution. To me, this demonstrates a lot of wisdom. I think sometimes the best way to teach children about bigger ethical and moral issues is to give them literature that offers open-ended questions, and then let the children grapple with, “How would I go about this? What is the answer here?”

“Reader, there’s another important quality that children possess. In addition to being sneaky and smart, they’re also compassionate. Children care about others, and about the world, and as Jaya and Jad gazed at Roz and Brightbill, their little hearts were full of compassion.”

-The Wild Robot Escapes

Out of all three of the books, my favorite is The Wild Robot Escapes, the second book. I think the author intended to leave the story at the end of this second book. It has such a powerful climax and the central theme of this book dives deep into the heart of what it means to be human. It’s a story about seeking our origins for answers, and I think that’s a theme that resonates with many people. This book had me sobbing, it was so beautiful. However, the third book is a rewarding sequel and I think it appealed more to my children with all of the new characters, adventure, and the exciting battle toward the end of the book. It was a perfect continuation of and conclusion to the story.

Have you read this series before? If so, what were your thoughts? If not, I highly recommend adding these to your to-read list!