The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess by Tom Gauld

Don’t miss this one. It’s irresistible. Seven Impossible things before Breakfast

 

One of the best things that can happen when you read a picture book is when the story takes a twist or a left turn that you did not see coming - a gasp aloud moment.  That is exactly what happened to me reading The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess.

The king and queen have no children. Yes we have read that in other classic fairy tales such as Thumbelia; The Fisherman and his Wife; and Tom Thumb. In this modern story the king consults with the royal inventor and the queen visits a clever old witch. Can you match this with the title? Yes the inventor makes a little wooden robot and, using a log from her wood pile, the witch makes a perfect little log princess. 

Both children are deeply loved but there is a small catch. When the log princess falls asleep each night she turns back into a log. Each morning it is vital to wake her with the magic words:

"Awake, little log, awake."

So every morning the wooden robot, her brother, carefully wakes up the log princess and then they enjoy their happy day together until ...  

Of course, like all great stories, we need a complication. Reading on, we discover that one morning the robot boy has been distracted by the arrival of circus. The maid can only see a log lying on the bed. Oh no! She tosses the log out of the window.  The log ends up in a wheelbarrow and then it is put onto a barge. 

"The robot ran to the barge. 'Please sir,' he said to the captain. 'My special log is in your barge. May I come aboard and search for it?"

Unfortunately the captain must set off for the far north. The robot does not find his sister on the journey so he is left on the shore with the huge pile of logs in a very cold place far, far from home. Luckily, late on the first night he finds the log that is his sister. Unluckily the pair are a very long way from their parents - the king and queen. And adding to the tension,  the robot decides it might be too frightening for his sister to awaken in this freezing place so he places her in a handcart and sets off home. 

In a series of small frames page we, the reader, are given a tiny glimpse of the little wooden robot's adventures. He encounter a Giant's Key, A Queen of Mushrooms, an Old Lady in a bottle and a Family of Robbers.  All of these could be used as writing inspiration with your students. 

Pulling the handcart is so exhausting and the wooden robot eventually collapses. 

"With the last of his strength he said the magic words."

Now it is his turn to ride in the handcart and again in a series of small frames we glimpse anther set of adventures. The log princess encounters some mischievous pixies, a haunted well, an enormous blackbird and a baby in a rosebush. 

Now for my oh no moment. As night falls the princess stops. She tries to stay awake but, yes you may have guessed, she turns back into a log. 

Meanwhile the king and queen are desperate to find their precious children. Luckily a family of beetles have been living inside the wooden robot. But is there a way the tiny insects can save the day?  And will we reach that all important happy ending?

You can see other pages from this book on Tom Gauld's web page. See more work by adult cartoonist Tom Gauld on his Instagram page. 

These are endearing characters. They hold a deep and abiding love for one another that never comes across as cloying. It’s a story with heart and adventure, and the stakes are high here. It will leave young readers gasping (the maid throws the log, who is really the princess, out of the window?!), eagerly turning pages to learn what will happen next ...  Seven Impossible things before Breakfast.

Gauld’s fairy tale feels both timeless and completely new; utterly fresh, yet like a story heard long ago and finally found again.  Enchanting. Kirkus Star review

But unlike traditional tales, this narrative contains no malevolent characters. Bad luck sets the plot spinning, and sibling love and the kindness of strangers help set everything to rights. The pictures demonstrate Gauld’s genius with simple-seeming line drawings and the crisp, clean use of ­cartoon-panel page design. Horn Book

The publisher of this book in the UK is Templar.  Here is a cake they had made to celebrate the publication of this book!