Get your red hot love-bot here

Robot in Love looks like it might be a modern fairy tale. There is a Cinderella like robot on the cover and why not? However, it does turn into a story more about tolerance to love.

The robot sees the loveliest creature for afar. As you go along, you learn they are shiny. The most lovely thing they have seen. And, of course, the robot is too shy to talk to her. The illustrations do show a few silhouette images that maybe that is “it” until you hear more clues. I figured at first it was a robot dog, then maybe a lamp post. Then comes the day that the robot sees that his love is not where they usually are! But Robot (sad at first) figures out how to find the love of its life. In the meantime, there are cute little, not puns, but “robot humor” along the way.

I am not sure if I like the fact the Robot steals his ah… lady…. love at the end. But it is cute. And if you’re the type of reader that wants to get the listener engaged in the story by asking them, “Who do you think the Robot is in love with?” this is the perfect story for that. It also is a not so subtle (as mentioned above) story of tolerance. After all the robot is in love with a (wait for it) toaster. Who does not say much but makes some mean toast. There is an image, and you can hear the shock in the characters voice, that says “Is that a toaster?” As if they were saying, “Is that two same-sex people?” or “Is that a bi-racial couple?”

It is a nice book. The sparse text and illustrations of T. L. McBeth make it an easy read out-loud or even a beginning reader.