Ultrabot's First Playdate

July 1, 2019
Ultrabot, a gigantic, rust-colored robot with a barrel-shaped torso and a spindly antenna, lives with its human professor in a “top-secret laboratory on Primrose Lane.” When the professor arranges a playdate for Ultrabot with someone called Becky, it panics: “What if Becky was mean?” Ultrabot envisions Becky as a giant, hairy monster with sharp claws and beady eyes, but Becky turns out to be a gentle human girl who wears lots of barrettes in her hair and is unfazed by her unusual playmate. Illustrations show a playful contrast between the laboratory’s sterile environment, filled with tanks and gadgets, and the homier accoutrements of Ultrabot’s bedroom (it lies worriedly tucked under a patchwork quilt). And Schneider inserts subtle visual humor into every scene of this winning friendship story—both Ultrabot and Becky prefer their sandwiches just so (bread crusts removed for one, enormous metal beams welded off for the other)—as human and robot find out just how much they have in common. Ages 4–7.

July 1, 2019
Young listeners and readers may identify more with playdate first-timer Ultrabot than with its child playmate--neighbor Becky Tingle, who's seemingly unfazed by visiting a professor's barn-sized robot. Playdate veteran Becky models positive social behavior, putting shy, unsure host Ultrabot at ease. What Schneider's understated text doesn't say, his intriguing, meticulous, and detail-rich mixed-media illustrations fill in. Storytime audiences will want to revisit the illustrations for their comical juxtapositions.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2019
At first glance, this doesn't look like a what-to-expect-when-hosting-a-playdate story. The first-timer here is a massive red robot that lived with its professor in a little top-secret laboratory. As a bird's-eye-view illustration shows, however, the laboratory is neither little nor top-secret. It's an imposing hangar-like structure nestled incongruously among modest houses in a suburban neighborhood. Young listeners and readers may find they identify more with Ultrabot than with its child playmate?next-door neighbor Becky Tingle, who's seemingly unfazed by visiting a barn-sized robot. Playdate veteran Becky models positive social behavior, putting shy, unsure host Ultrabot at ease. After playing ball, drawing, and having lunch ( they both liked their crusts cut off ), Ultrabot decided it was safe to share its toys with Becky. What Schneider's understated text doesn't say, his intriguing, meticulous, and detail-rich mixed-media illustrations fill in. To cut the crusts off Ultrabot's sandwich, its professor needs a forklift, eye protection, and a blow torch. Storytime audiences will want to revisit the illustrations for more outrageous comical juxtapositions. And speaking of revisiting?after Becky goes home, Ultrabot wants to know when she can come back. Surveying the colossal mess her charge and pal have left in their wake, the professor suggests next time they go to Becky's. Kids will crack up at the playdate's aftermath; grownups will feel the professor's pain; all will happily revisit this extraordinary playdate over and over. kitty flynn

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from April 1, 2019
Despite initial anxiety, a robot experiences his first playdate with the kid next door. Ultrabot and its professor live on Primrose Lane in a "little top-secret laboratory." When the professor announces that Becky, the girl next door, will be coming for a playdate, Ultrabot's response is "NEGATIVE." Concerned Becky might be "mean" or break its toys, Ultrabot has difficulty sleeping. After Becky arrives, Ultrabot's initial shyness evaporates when she offers to share her ball and they bond during a ball-bouncing contest. Becky shows Ultrabot how to draw a cat, they have sandwiches, and Ultrabot shares its toys with Becky. When Becky leaves, Ultrabot's eager for their next playdate! Precise, detailed, linear pen-and-ink illustrations washed with pale watercolor and finished in Photoshop add a hilarious dimension to this seemingly normal, uneventful playdate. The visual incongruity between Ultrabot's enormous, hangar-size lab with sliding roof panel and observatory next to Becky's modest Cape rouses instant curiosity. The disparity between Ultrabot, a giant, red robot who plays with real planes and jeeps, and diminutive Becky, a little white girl with a ball, couldn't be greater. Very clever use of varying viewpoints intensifies their dramatic differences while marvelous visual details reinforce their similarities as they play together like any kids. A delightful, picture-perfect playdate. (Picture book. 4-7)

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