If you’re not into graphic novels or books for young readers, by all means please take your mouse and click away from this blog at once. No reason to waste precious time here.
My brother is dating a woman who has a 5-year-old son. When I met the boy while we were on vacation I nicknamed him the “Mom-bird,” because every two minutes he’d say, “Mom?” even when he was seated 2 feet from her. Sometimes I'd been in the kitchen, his mother would be on the porch, he'd be upstairs in his room building lLeegos and I'd hear a small, "Mom?" The interesting thing he wasn't so much asking a question as declaring himself as an extension of her -- her dependent, and seeking re-assurance that she was still within earshot. He's a total fledgling at this stage in his life.
I brought the Mom-bird two presents. A box of Legos and Robot Dreams.
I have a policy of reading all books I plan to pass along to young readers. Mainly I want to vet the content. This is not to say I would not give a young person a book with objectionable content, it’s just that I better know that’s what I’m doing beforehand which gives me time to prepare for an argument/discussion with the mother (or legal guardian or probation officer, etc)
Robot Dreams, according to the First Second catalog, is intended for readers age 8 and up.
As I “read” the book on the subway I laughed out loud and thought that an adult in the proper frame of mind would love this story. And I thought screw all these cranky, miserable commuters. (Perhaps more people should read funny books while commuting if only to remove that dull gray sheen from their eyes.) I don’t want to give anything away but the panels where the dog ended up puking after eating ants with ant eaters was just plain awesome.
The best way for me to describe Robot Dreams:
Wordless tenderness that is absolutely brilliant.
I’m not sure Varon will be able to repeat the success she’s exhibited here. I’m not talking about book sales, or an Amazon ranking, I’m talking about telling a terrific story without using words. (There’s something I’ll never be able to do. Ever.) As with all illustrators she's got a style that's all her own and here she's pitch perfect.
If you know a youngster who likes to curl up with a good graphic novel (or just plain likes a great story) you might want to consider sending him/her a copy of this book.
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