Little Robot by Ben Hatke

 

The opening scenes of this graphic novel or toon are wordless. We see a highway, trucks and then move in closer to see one truck in particular. A carton falls off the truck when it goes over a bump in the road. The box falls off a bridge and into the river below. The wordless scenes continue into Chapter One. A young girl climbs out of the window of a trailer house. She plays at the park and then heads down to the river where she has stashed her toolkit. She finds a carton and when she opens it, she discovers something very surprising - a robot! He's been slightly damaged from the fall out of the truck so the girl, remember she has set of tools, sets about some repairs and before too long the little robot, who looks a little like R2D2 is up on his feet and able to walk. 

Meanwhile back at the factory the computer sensors ring out alarms because one of the units - UNIT 00012 - is missing. The orders are to locate and recover.

I hope this plot is making you think of The Wild Robot by Peter Brown.

Of course, things are heading for a showdown. The sinister robot charged with finding UNIT00012 is coming. The little girl has truly made a special friend so what will happen when the retrieval robot arrives? Problem solving, ingenuity and true heroism are at the heart of this story. Oh, and there is a lot of 'boom', 'zom', 'clink', 'clang', 'chonk', 'pling', 'ploop', and 'jonk' to enjoy along the way as well as lots more robots!

This delightful, nearly wordless graphic novel portrays a kid with gumption enough to take on big business and smarts enough to advise the factory’s fix-it robot on repairs even though she just might be too young for kindergarten. Despite having little material means and few human connections, this kid creates life in the inanimate and fosters community where none could exist before. Girl power at its best. A sure winner!  Kirkus Star review

This is not only a sweet and wonderful book about friendship, though – it’s a great maker space selection! This is a little girl who’s comfortable with a tool belt and she tinkers with a robot! What' cha Reading?

Blurb: When a little girl finds an adorable robot in the woods, she presses a button and accidentally activates him for the first time. Now, she finally has a friend. But the big, bad robots are coming to collect the little guy for nefarious purposes, and it's all up to a five-year-old armed only with a wrench and a fierce loyalty to her mechanical friend to save the day!

This is not a book an Australian school library could ever add to their collection which is such a dreadful shame. Here in Australia this book, with only 135 pages, costs over AUS$45. Why oh why?

In 2016 Little Robot won Will Eisner award (Considered the “Oscars” of the comic book industry, are handed out each year in a gala ceremony at Comic-Con International: San Diego. Named for renowned cartoonist Will Eisner (creator of “The Spirit” and pioneer of the graphic novels), the Awards are given out in more than two-dozen categories covering the best publications and creators of the previous year):

2016 Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8): Little Robot, by Ben Hatke 

2023 Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8) Chibi Usagi: Attack of the Heebie Chibis, by Julie and Stan Sakai

Other 2023 entries for ages up to 8 years:

Beneath The Trees: A Fine Summer, by Dav (Magnetic Press)

Fox + Chick: Up and Down: and Other Stories, by Sergio Ruzzier (Chronicle Books)

Grumpy Monkey Who Threw That? by Suzanne Lang and Max Lang (Random House Studio)

Hey, Bruce!: An Interactive Book, by Ryan Higgins (Disney/Hyperion)

Here is the full list of past winners:

2012 Dragon Puncher Island, by James Kochalka (Top Shelf)

2013 Babymouse for President, by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm (Random House)

2014 Itty Bitty Hellboy, by Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani (Dark Horse)

2015 The Zoo Box, by Ariel Cohn and Aron Nels Steinke (First Second)

2016 Little Robot, by Ben Hatke (First Second)

2017 Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea, by Ben Clanton (Tundra)

2018 Good Night, Planet, by Liniers (Toon Books)

2019 Johnny Boo and the Ice Cream Computer, by James Kochalka (Top Shelf/IDW)

2020 Comics: Easy as ABC, by Ivan Brunetti (TOON)

2022 Chibi Usagi: Attack of the Heebie Chibis, by Julie and Stan Sakai (IDW)

2023 The Pigeon Will Ride the Roller Coaster! by Mo Willems (Union Square Kids)

Here are some other books (graphic novels) by Ben Hatke: