Weird on Top of Weird. Squared.

Weird Little Robots
by Carolyn Crimi ill by Corinna Luyken

Real live robots and their pet squirrel. It's like weird on top of weird squared.

Penny Rose is lonely. In the past, she has always enjoyed friendships with other children in her neighborhood. Now everything has changed. Her family moved and she can't connect with any of her new classmates. She spends her free time sequestered in the shed in her family’s backyard, creating a collection of tiny robots from found objects: outdated technology, broken bits and pieces, even a set of false teeth. She names each creation and fills her days tinkering with these mini-friends.

Then she meets her nerdy neighbor Lark. A budding ornithologist, Lark has a yard brimming with an incredible collection of birdhouses created from assorted curiosities that the birds leave for her,

Lark wasn’t afraid to let her weirdness show, and Penny Rose thought that was very brave.

The two loners combine their shared resources and talents to create roboTown, an intricate metropolis for robots, complete with multilevel buildings, lights, and a battery-operated elevator. ​One night they discover that the robots have come to life.

Every story must have a dark moment and it arrives for Penny Rose in the form of a mysterious invitation to join a Secret Science Society. In a moment of weakness, Penny Rose shares her robots with members of the secret group. She does this without the knowledge or consent of Lark, betraying the trust of her best friend and the magical robots. There are consequences. Most of the robots are stolen, roboTown demolished, and her friendship with Lark damaged.

In the process of attempting to reclaim and repair broken relationships and the lifeless toys, Penny Rose makes her own discoveries: What does it mean to be friend? What is science? Can all mistakes be fixed?

Crimi brings the story to a satisfying conclusion, including a miraculous recovery of one robot and a repaired friendship. But she leaves a few threads open. Does this mean that there will be more adventures for Penny Rose, Lark, and their robots? Count my vote for an absolutely, positively, without a doubt yes. More Weird Little Robots. More Penny Rose and Lark. Please.

There are so many things to love about this charming little tale of friendship and creativity, science and magic. The girls are interesting and interested in the world around them. But it's the robots who steal the show. There's iPam, made from a cell phone. Her cracked screen displays text messages to the girls. Fraction, the friendly bot, is an old calculator with a heart-shaped sticker, Clunk with a meat thermometer head atop a transistor radio takes over plugging in the lights. Sharpie created from a pair of old dentures, can sometimes be a bit grouchy. Data with a marble eye keeps watch out the window. She can see the future.
​I absolutely adore these robots!

Luyken's full page illustrations accentuate the story's magic. She captures the essence to the two girls and the distinctive personality of the robots. Images of roboTown glow with the wonder of the girl's imaginations and cast a bewitching spell over the tale.

Build Your Own Robot

Penny Rose loved the idea of dressing up in the same costume for Halloween..."We'll be Best Friends Robots!"

​The girls want to dress up as robots for Halloween.
​Although their plans fall through, young readers can create a cardboard robot costume and make their own magic.

Uncorrected copy provided by publisher.

Pub date: October 1, 2019 Publisher: Candlewick ISBN: 978-0763694937