“But I am not safe here. If any human ever learns who I really am, they will have me destroyed. And that is why, when the time is right, I will try to escape.”
After living on a remote island and learning to speak the language of the animals, Roz the robot is facing a brand new challenge: being trapped on a farm. She’s been purchased by the Shareefs who are kind, but they are ultimately keeping her from the family she’d made on the island – including her adopted gosling son, Brightbill.
“I have asked myself that same question. I do not feel defective. I feel… different. Is being different the same as being defective?”
As she prepares an escape plan, Roz must camouflage her true, wild self to avoid being sent back to the factory where she was created. Wild robots are simply not allowed in society. Roz finds allies in the dairy cows and in the Shareef children, Jaya and Jad. It’s the power of her and Brightbill’s story, passed between flocks of migrating geese, that sets her escape on its course. Even when Roz manages to leave the farm without being detected, she must navigate terrain and situations that are dangerous and unlike anything she’s faced before. Luckily, she has Brightbill by her side.
“Frightened faces peered out from a window. But Roz didn’t want to frighten anyone! She just wanted to go home!”
Roz and Brightbill traverse farm country, mountains, and even a brief stint in the ocean on the back of a whale. The most challenging environment proves to be the civilized world. Roz has never been around so many humans – or other robots, for that matter. Her camouflage skills are put to test, and her drive for survival has never been higher… especially when RECOs come to take Roz back to the factory, where she will come face to face with her Designer and learn that her “defects” are the most beautiful thing about her.
Caldecott-winning author Peter Brown serves as both author and illustration of this adventure-filled romp. From fending off a pack of fierce wolves to surviving a tornado to a foot chase through a near-futuresque city, students are sure to cheer for each of Roz’s triumphs. At its heart, though, the mother-son relationship between Roz and Brightbill infuses the story with a warmth that’s perfect for families to read aloud together.
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The Wild Robot on the Island by Peter Brown
Companion to The Wild Robot and The Wild Robot Escapes
Venture into Roz’s wild world in this gorgeously illustrated picture book that brings full color to the adventures of Roz, Brightbill, and their island family.
A Picture Book Companion is an add-on that can expand the reach of your school-wide reading program when the chapter book might contain themes that are too complex for younger readers, especially your preschoolers. Now everyone can be included! This book even comes with its own set of resources similar to those for the chapter book. You can request to include the Picture Book Companion on the Request A Quote page when requesting a quote on the chapter book above. Picture Book Companions often have an up-charge that will be communicated to you on your quote.
