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Fantasy. Juvenile Fiction. Juvenile Literature. Science Fiction. HTML: When two science-savvy girls create an entire robot world, they don't expect the robots to come alive. But life may be a bit more magical than they thought. Nine-year-old Penny Rose has just moved to a new town, and so far the robots she builds herself are her only company. But with just a bit of magic, everything changes: she becomes best friends with Lark, has the chance to join a secret science club, and discovers that her robots are alive. Penny Rose hardly remembers how lonely she used to feel. But then a fateful misstep forces her to choose between the best friend she's always hoped for and the club she's always dreamed of, and in the end it may be her beloved little robots that pay the price. Quirky and wonderful, this illustrated chapter book from Carolyn Crimi and Corinna Luyken shows that making your own space and a true friend in the world is a kind of magic all its own..… (more)
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Penny Rose is an eleven-year-old who has just moved to a new
I won a copy of this book from LibraryThing in exchange for my honest review.
This is a fun little story perfect for younger middle-grade readers. While it lacked the depth I prefer, it has great messages about friendship, creativity, and
The robots were my favorite part of course. Penny Rose created five little bots each with their own personalities and special functions. For instance, iPam is made out of an old cellphone, so she can communicate through her screen and loves to use phrases like ‘lol’ and ‘fyi.’ Her name made me smile too.
While I realize the illustrations might not be final in my ARC, I like the artwork and there were plenty of images throughout. Nothing is more disappointing than when a book has great artwork but you only get like, four pictures throughout the whole story. It would be wonderful if the finished copy had color illustrations, but even in black and white, they’re cute.
If you know a younger reader looking for a book about robots, friendship, or with protagonists who are interested in science and crafting, I think they’ll enjoy this book. If Crimi and Luyken put out more books in this series I would certainly read them.
This would make a
I liked the characters of Penny and Lark as being shy, awkward girls, more interested in their hobbies than in fitting into fifth grade social norms. Carolyn Crimi sprinkled some nice nods to female scientists and engineers. However, the plot seemed a little disjointed and unfinished, with a mysterious force giving Penny's robots some independent life. I wanted to know more about the history and workings of the Secret Science club, and I never really got why they wanted to exclude Lark.
I
I also like the fact that the story shows and portrays to people especially young girls that it is ok to be interested in Science and Robots. I recommend this book and believe that it would have broad appeal to readers across much of the upper half of Elementary grade readers (3rd-5th). Could even be used as a class read loud where the teacher reads it to the class a chapter a day.
It is a good story with interesting main characters. The characters are fallible but learn from mistakes, grow together, and display a touching tenderness. Social pressure, trust, and admitting one's mistakes all come in to play. Strong STEM themes should encourage and appeal female and male readers alike.
The robots play a supporting role and definitely could have a book of their own as their story line was interesting and fun.
Artwork is fun and adds a lot to appeal of the story.
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813.6 |