Spare Sibling? Robobaby by David Weisner

The Robo family is expecting a new member of the family, and when a 278-pound shipping carton filled with parts arrives at their pod door, they are thrilled.

It's the new Flange model! Wow!

What a big boy!" coos Mama Diode.

Daddy Lugnut frowns.

"Babies have gotten a lot more complicated since we built Cathode!" he grumbles.

"I've got my tools," says little Cathode.

"Oh, how hard can it be," says Mama Di. "This is a mother's job."

But their first attempt isn't quite up to standards. in fact it CRASHES!

Daddy Lugnut asks Mama Di to call in her brother Manifold who arrives with Aunt Gasket and their two pets, Sprocket and Sprockie, along with jolly neighors bringing a sludge cake and and greasy gear cookies. Uncle Manny buckles on his tool belt and starts assembling parts. Little Cathy complains that he's not following the instructions, and Uncle Manny grouches that they can always do that later. But there's a major malfunction. Suddenly Baby Flange takes off with a WHOOSH out the door in wobbly flight, while Mama and Daddy call Robobaby Corporation for technical assistance.

But with the help of Uncle Mannie's pets Sprockit and Sprockie and a net, Baby Flange is retrieved, piece by piece, and with the expert help of the Robo tech guys, the talented Cathy, and the usual requisite updates installation, little Flange is soon functioning to specifications. The techies and neighbors depart, and baby Flange finally goes nighty night in her perma-rock cradle. Mama Di and Daddy Lug finally take a deep breath--until big sister Cathy discovers another shipping carton at their pod door. It seems Robobaby Corporation is having a special--there's a big box that says ROBO BONUS BABY, the AXLE MODEL on their porch.

Don't put away your toolkit yet, Cathy, in three-time Caldecott winner David Wiesner's latest inventive creation, Robobaby (Houghton Mifflin Clarion Books, 2020), which will make even devoted techno-types appreciate the way human babies are assembled. But The Jetsons' boy Elroy would feel right at home in Wiesner's rollicking illustrations of an expanding robot family, comically spoofing both interfamily relations and internet commerce and the unexpected "some assembly required" arrivals that come with it, while throughout celebrating the hard-wired love of family all along the way.

In a five-star product review, Kirkus says, "A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy."

Looking for Love: Love, Z by Jessie Sima

A little robot named Z goes out one day hunting for adventure and finds a message in a bottle. All that is still legible on the letter are two words.

LOVE,
BEATRICE

Little Z doesn't have a clue what "love" means and who or what "Beatrice" might be, but they sound important. At bedtime he asks his family of rusty robots, as they sweetly tuck him in to bed with a story and a clanky kiss. They can only say...

DOES NOT COMPUTE

But Z cannot leave the question unanswered. Setting out on a quest, he spots a sturdy sailboat with a kitty for a captain.

"Hello, I am looking for Beatrice. I am looking for what love is, and she will have the answer."

But as they sail on, nobody has a clue.

"What's a Beatrice?"

But everyone has a different definition of what love is. The crow says its sharing delicious food--even if you want it for yourself. Kids playing in the park all have their own ideas. One says it's butterflies. One says it's a million puppies, and another thinks of snowflakes on his tongue.

All of these don't really compute for Z either. Beatrice must be the only one who knows. He has to find her. Z and Kitty Captain sail on until, weary, they spot a small island with a cozy house. They disembark and knock at the friendly-looking blue door. A woman opens it.

"Hello. I'm Beatrice," she says.

She brings Z and Kitty in beside the fire and Z explains the object of their mission. Beatrice says she has to think about that query, so she does, while she offers fresh baked cookies, plays a game of checkers with Z, and they dance to her old Victrola. At last she explains.

"You'll know it when you feel it,"

Z is unsure what to make of her answer, but as he prepares to power down, there's a sudden knock at Beatrice's door.

It's Z's whole family of old rusty robots who've been searching for him, bringing his favorite bedtime story, his night-light, and good-night kisses from all, and at last Z has a feeling that does compute, in Jessie Sima's Love, Z Simon and Schuster, 2018).  A sweet story in which Z goes looking for love in all the right places, Sima's soft and simple illustrations extend the storytelling, right down to Z and the rusty robots shoving off for home, leaving Kitty and his flotsam bottle, tagged "Love, Z" with Beatrice. Sima's other books include Not Quite Narwhal, smf Harriet Gets Carried Away (read reviews here).

DING! Robot in Love by T. L. McBeth

It was a day like any other.

Then I saw her!

I had never seen anything so beautiful.. So... shiny!

No sooner do his optical sensors fire than his servos are in swivel and his central processor is sizzling!! He is smitten.

Robot is in love!

He moves closer, thinking to activate vocalization, but his circuit board is in total system overload.

DING!

Our connection was electric!

The next day Robot tries again. Nattily attired in spiffy suit and red bow tie, carrying a bouquet, he returns to their meeting place, determined to communicate to her how he feels.

She was gone!

Then he sees her picture in the store window--and her name!

TOAST-O-MATIC!

We ran away together.

And it's true love and a dual power supply forever in T.L. McBeth's toasty warm love story Robot in Love (Henry Holt and Company, 2018). Artist McBeth's simple artwork depicts his love-stricken suitor dandily dressed, in simple black and white drawings accented with soft reds, right down to the Valentine hearts in his visual orbits. For youngsters who prefer their love stories on the silly side, this is a heart-warming Valentine Day's story which will not fail to engage the giggle gears in young readers in a sweet tale of cyborg romance.

For more offbeat Valentine fare, pair this one with Kelly DiPucchio's hilarious Zombie in Love (see review here).