Roz, The Wild Robot

This week, I finished reading Peter Brown’s The Wild Robot Escapes to my daughter, Evie. We had read The Wild Robot about a month ago, and both tell the story of a robot named Roz who washed up on shore on a remote island. On the island, she learns how to survive from the wild animals.

Peter Brown uses the robot and her animal friends as an allegory about family, community, and life. In a single year on the island, we see births and deaths in surprisingly stark terms. We see families and friendships forming, the harsh winter taking its toll on the wildlife, and the outside world threatening Roz and her island community.

We really enjoyed both books, though the first was a better story. Each night, we would read a few chapters and discuss family, the life cycle, artificial intelligence, personhood, independence, freedom, being a parent, being a child, and all the other wonderful motifs in these books. I was surprised by where the book took us and by Evie’s questions and maturity about these topics. I strongly recommend these books to anyone with kids old enough for some direct conversations.