By: Sara Varon Publisher: First Second Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: First Second Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 208 Publication Date: August 07, 2007 Reading Level: Young Adult Release Date: August 07, 2007
This moving, charming graphic novel about a dog and a robot shows us in poignant detail how powerful and fragile relationships are. After a Labor Day jaunt to the beach leaves the robot rusted, immobilized in the sand, the dog must return alone to the life they shared. But the memory of their friendship lingers, and as the seasons pass, the dog tries to fill the emotional void left by the loss of his closest friend, making and losing a series of friends, from a melting snowman to epicurean anteaters. But for the robot, lying rusting on the beach, the only relief from loneliness is in dreams.
Hooray for Robot Dreams This is a beautiful, sweet story with a touching, bittersweet ending. The illustrations are adorable. A complete treat!
Made me cry I can't remember why I picked this book up. I gave it to my daughter, who read it and brought it to me and said it was sad. So I sat down to read it and just cried. It's a sucker punch of a story, sweet and poignant and at the end, redeeming. A must-read, but caution if you hand it to a kid without previewing it first!
An oasis of sweetness in a sometimes arid world Add my 5 stars to all the others here! I first came across Sarah Varon's work through her slim volume "Sweaterweather," and immediately recognized her remarkable gift as a comics artist. But as delightful as that first collection was, this is absolutely wonderful. All-ages in the best sense of the word, adults will enjoy this nearly wordless graphic novel as much as children -- but any child should embrace it wholeheartedly.
On the surface it's a story about a dog & his robot friend, filled with expressive faces & often funny situations. But it's far more than that, heading into bittersweet, thoughtful territory that explores the nature of friendship. Both Dog & Robot grow quite a bit by the time we reach the final pages, and they're both better for it. It's a truly sweet story, without ever becoming maudlin or cloying.
Sometimes I despair about the condition of the modern world ... then a small jewel like this comes along, reassuring me that there's more than bad news to life. A perfect book for any child ... but don't hesitate to buy a copy for yourself!
Book Review: Robot Dreams For me, a book like Robot Dreams is just begging to be read. When our new book order came in last week, there it was in the stacks, quietly making itself known. Call me a sucker for the decidedly doodle-esque cover art, but I was ready to give this one a once-over. I picked it up, I sat back, I opened it up ... wait a minute - where are the words?! I then recalled the author's previous work and it all started to make sense. But, being down with all forms of literacy, the wordless format did not sway me from my mission of digesting this volume in one big gulp. I "read" on.
I'm pretty happy I did. The story begins with Dog purchasing and assembling Robot. The two become fast friends, bonding over videos checked out from the local library (who says DVDs don't belong?).
It is their fateful summer trip to the beach, however, that sets the story in motion. Unaware of his being made of metal, Robot follows Dog into the surf - with rusty results. Robot seizes up. With no way to carry him, Dog heads home alone. Over the course of the fall, winter, and spring Dog is repeatedly rebuffed in his attempts to retrieve his friend. On the beach Robot has dreams of what will happen to him (and his friendship with Dog) in the meantime. As robot is slowly disassembled for parts by various passersby, the reader is left wondering if the two will ever be reunited.
Dog and Robot do cross paths again, but not in the way you would expect. The, shall we say "circular", ending may leave some readers unsatisfied. For me however, it was an appropriate way to wrap up this rewarding and surprisingly mature story of friendship.
A wordless book made me cry This was the first--and only--graphic novel I've ever read, let alone purchased. Long after I finished I found myself thinking about it, and also brooding over the memories that this book evoked, of failed friendships. Then I started to cry. This story ought to click with anyone who's ever had a friend, because I think it's a pretty universal thing about the human condition that all friendships change, and some don't last. The book is a bittersweet reminder of that.
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