Who’s in the mood for a robot-in-the-wilderness fairytale that’s actually a metaphor for how we should all try to get along in life, even though sometimes that’s impossible? A robot who is closer to Ted Hughes’ Iron Man than The Day the Earth Stood Still’s Gort (although nowhere near as tall as either of them) who finds herself washed up on a remote island with no memory of how she got there, only knowing that she will have to make friends with the local wildlife if she wants to survive. Sure, Roz’s programming isn’t perfect but her passion to learn and communicate is infectious, and even though the island’s animals are necessarily suspicious of her to begin with they slowly, very slowly, begin to admit her into their confidence. But this is a truly untamed landscape, absolutely devoid of humans, and when Roz’s past eventually finds her she’ll need all the help she can get from her new island friends.
We loved The Wild Robot. It’s written for a pre-YA audience but it’s a story that anyone of any age can enjoy, if you approach it in the right spirit and are prepared to lose yourself in what is ultimately an uplifting campfire tale. Not that it’s all sweetness and light on the island. Roz is a survivalist and death is always present in many forms – in the weather, in the unseen threat of an outside presence that will stop at nothing to recover the rogue AI, and in the animals themselves. Because even when these critters get along, they’re always eyeing each other up for their next meal. And the climax of the story will punch you right in the heart.
This is a book that would make an excellent animated film; a fact that is underlined by the lovely monochrome illustrations that are littered throughout the volume. It’s curious because, as both author and illustrator, some of Peter Brown’s pictures seem slightly contradictory to his words – not in any major sense, but the Roz he describes in the text doesn’t seem quite as upright and Gort-ish as the Roz in his drawings (although that’s probably just this writer’s take on the character). But that’s a very minor criticism for a book that is totally magical, and which has some important emotional and social themes at its centre. If Roz is what the robotic future looks like, bring it on!
THE WILD ROBOT / AUTHOR: PETER BROWN / PUBLISHER: PICCADILLY PRESS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
