Tobor

PreS-Gr 1—In this picture book originally published in Belgium and Holland, a boy named Ben receives a robot for his fifth birthday. Unlike his stuffed animal friends, Tobor is not predictable or boring. The robot communicates, can play a variety of games, and never runs out of energy—literally and figuratively—and all this energy is almost too much for Ben. But when Ben shuts down Tobor, he soon longs for the robot's voice and begins to educate the bot. From talking quietly in bed at night to engaging in thoughtful activities, Tobor moves from the role of repetitive, energetic robot to a real friend. When Tobor crashes when trying to climb a tree, Ben is panic stricken, afraid of losing his friend. Later, when Tobor comes back online, readers will be happy but slightly concerned that Tobor might be Ben's only friend.