At the end of this book I thought two things - wow that was a sad story and how far-fetched. Then I read the authors note Spoiler alert. Lisa Thompson visited a school and saw a robot on a seat. Lily-Bot was there because the real Lily was at home.
"These robots are created by a company called No Isolation, who produce them to help children who cannot be there for various reasons."
Anna's class have a new student - Ellie but Ellie is undergoing medical treatment and so she cannot come to school in person. A small robot sits in her chair acting like a camera. Ellie can see the classroom and she can control the robot to have several reactions such as asking a question, agreeing with a comment, and expressing confusion. All of this is controlled by Ellie at home from her tablet.
Anna is chosen to sit beside Ellie-Bot and that should be fine but Anna lives under a shadow. Her family cannot afford to send her to the myriad of after school and weekend activities enjoyed by her class mates. Her three closest friends dance, play sport, ride horses and attend swimming competitions. When the girls talk about their weekend, Anna has nothing to say. Then Ellie (via Ellie-Bot) asks Anna about her weekend and she tells her first lie. Over the coming weeks the lies grow and grow - ice skating, bowling, and visits to the ice cream parlour for delicious sweet treats. Of course Anna's boasting will be discovered but does this have to mean no one will be her friend.
Author blurb: Anna’s anxious when she’s picked to befriend the new girl in her class. For a start, Ellie is ill and can’t come to school herself. So Anna has to communicate with her through a new kind of robot. But Anna is also worried that her life’s too small and boring to be of interest to her new friend. Compared to the other girls, she doesn’t have anything exciting to talk about and so when Ellie asks her a question, a little white lie pops out. Then another and another. When Ellie finds out the truth, can their friendship survive…?
This is a book from the Barrington Stoke dyslexia-friendly series. It is a short book with 96 pages but it is a powerful story perfect for readers aged 9+. Here are two videos with Lisa Thompson. And one with Moon Lane TV. And a set of teaching notes.
Lisa Thompson is the author of a book for younger children from the Little Gems series - Sidney Makes a wish. I have also talked about:
Here are some other books by Lisa Thompson:
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