Review: Mama Robot

Here is a young lad whose mum works too much. When the lad comes home from school, he is greeted with a note, reminding him to eat his dinner, do his homework, brush his teeth and tidy his room – and the note is signed off with hugs and kisses.

Our wee lad is tired of the same old ‘mum is working’ routine. He has an idea.

He’ll make his own robot mama!

A mama who protects him from the neighbour’s dog, who doesn’t make him eat boiled peas and never yells at him. Indeed, he puts a lot of careful thought into the perfect robot mama, and just as the robot’s done, the boy realises something awful.

How can he hug a robot??

Yet again, author Cali has an uncanny knack for heart-string tugging, with a story that is timely, relevant and resplendent with ‘another side to the story’. This is a book about love in its squishiest form, and it's done with wit and candour, as is Cali's way.

Cantone's stunning illustrations take this book to a whole other level (as is her way), with kooky etchings and splashes of divine colour and illustratious angles. Gorgeous.

First published in Italy under the title Voglio una mamma-robot, and translated by Marcel Danesi.

Title: Mama Robot
Author: Davide Cali, translated by Marcel Danesi
Illustrator: AnnaLaura Cantone
Publisher: Tundra Books, $27.95 RRP
Publication Date: 12 February 2008
Format: Hard cover
ISBN: 9780887768736
For ages: 4 - 10
Type: Picture Book