Making A Friend: Little Robot Alone by Patricia MacLachlan

Every morning Little Robot put on his tracks:

One by one, tight and strong,
rolling, strolling, all day long.

But first, he pauses to plug in for a full charge and a robot-ready breakfast:

Oats with oozy oil are yummy,
slipping slowly down my tummy.

Little Robot trundles out of his cozy cottage, shaded by a willow and bounded by a blue pond. There are fish leaping, a duckling paddling in the pond, and squirrels aplenty, frisking up and down the tree. It is lovely and peaceful, but still Little Robot is lonely. He needs a friend, but realizes that if he wants a friend, he will have to work at making one.

One night he dreamed of a smooth, shiny shape.

His green bulb glowing, Little Robot assembles sheet metal, screwdriver and wrenches and shapes the friend of his dreams. He gives it a red button nose, pauses, and then presses it.

Nothing.

It's back to the old drawing board for Little Robot. In his workshop he adds a broom tail, some blue marble eyes, and some small treads for each of the four legs. He charges up the battery and presses the red button nose again.

The broom wagged.

Sometimes you have to work at making a good friend, and Little Robot has that friend at last, Little Dog, to be with him all day and rest with him at night, in Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest's Little Robot Alone (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018). Newbery Award winner MacLachlan shapes a gentle story about making a full life for yourself, and artist Matt Phelan adds the soft-focused pencil and watercolored illustrations to set off this sweet and, for a robot tale, quaintly bucolic story, one that seems to promise more of Little Robot and Little Dog in future episodes. Says Publishers Weekly, "Little Robot is instantly winning--surprisingly expressive, sweet but never cloying, and in service to a higher and very relatable purpose."

Upgrade and Unplug! Doll-E 1.0 by Shanda McCloskey

Charlotte was not one of those little girls who dote on dollies and tea sets.

Charlotte's head was always in the clouds.

No, not those fluffy clouds in blue skies. Charlotte's favorite clouds are the data-storage sort.

Charlotte is a techno-cyber-whiz who prefers downloads to dolls, coding to cuddling plush critters, and virtual reality goggles to giggly tea parties. Even her little dog is named Blutooth.

Mom doesn't know where Charlotte got her consuming interest in IT, but she is happy for her help with all their internet-enabled devices.

Still, Mom feels that Charlotte needs more experience interacting with actual reality--so she gets her a doll and doll stroller to play with.

"Are there instructions?" asked Charlotte.

"I was thinking you could play house or doctor with it," said Mom.

But no matter what commands Charlotte gives her, Doll-E just sits there with the same silly smile on her face. But when Charlotte puts the doll down, it speaks.

"MA-MA!

"I'm not your MAMA!" Charlotte says.

Investigating the source of the voice, Charlotte discovers something she recognizes--a panel in the doll's back with batteries and wiring inside. At last! Here's something she can hack! Charlotte's brain goes into hyperdrive.

"I know! I could run an update on you! It's going to be awesome!"

Charlotte works on her program all night and at last Doll-E is ready for the installation.

"HELLO. MY NAME IS DOLL-E 1.0!"

And with Charlotte with the controller and Doll-E fitted with the proper electrodes in her helmet, the two are ready to walk the dog outside, with Doll-E pulled in her stroller by Blutooth, in Shanda McCloskey's brand-new debut picture book, Doll-E 1.0 (Little, Brown, 2018).

Charlotte is an engaging little girl techno-geek, resourceful and inventive, drolly portrayed by first-time author-illustrator Shanda McCloskey, who appropriately combines her comic pencil and watercolor drawings with Photoshop digital artistry in the creation of the her little technical wizard and her new, updated techie toy. Says School Library Journal, " McCloskey's picture book debut is not one to miss. A fun addition."