1. Ame Dyckman's text will make you smile and laugh out loud. Every word is perfect.
2. Dan Yaccarino's illustrations are bright and full of detail.
3. It feels like it is on its way to becoming a classic.
4. Colby's Sharp's son highly recommends it.
*Starred Booklist review
*Starred Kirkus review
*Starred Publishers Weekly review
6. It reminds us to celebrate our differences.
7. I mention it here, here, and here.
8. I put it in Donna Kouri's hands and said, "You must read Boy + Bot." Thankfully, she followed my directions. She smiled and laughed the entire time. I believe she may have read it a second and a third time.
9. Kindergartners will want to read this friendship story over and over again.
10. Ame Dyckman and Dan Yaccarino said"YES" when I asked if they would interview each other on Watch. Connect Read. Thank you!
*DAN: Are you really a robot and this book the first step for you to reveal it to the world?
AME: Affirmative! Um... I mean, no.
*AME: How old were you when you first wished for a robot friend, and what did you imagine they would be like?
DAN: I've been wishing for my very own robot buddy my whole life! I even wrote and illustrated a book called IF I HAD A ROBOT. I guess I imagined him to be much like Bot, big, happy and of course red. All robots should be red, except of course the silver ones. He would be my best friend and we would do everything together.
*DAN: How does it feel to have your first book published?
AME: I’m tremendously happy! When I got my preview copy, I carried it around all day like a little kid with their favorite toy. On release day, I’m going to buy hundreds of copies and use them to build a little BOY + BOT fort in my living room and do all my writing in there from now on.
*AME: Is Boy's spiky hair a nod to anime?
DAN: I grew up watching Astro Boy and I also loved Tin Tin, so maybe it's a reference to them. Also, I have a cowlick.
*DAN: Why picture books? Why not YA novels or chapter books?
AME: My Writing Voice is four years old. We can only do a few hundred words before it needs a nap. Also, while I like YA and chapter books, I LOVE picture books.
*AME: Were any of the characters in BOY + BOT drawn based on people (or robots) you actually know?
DAN: No, not really. I like to invent things or draw out what I'm thinking.
*AME: Tell us about the little light bulb bot. (In my house, we call him “Watt.”)
DAN: I thought there needed to be another robot of some sort at the Inventor’s lab. I imagine the light bulb as the Inventor’s first attempt to create a robot. Maybe I'm reading too much into it.
*DAN: Any more books about robots coming?
AME: There are more BOY + BOT adventures in my head, and one or two already on paper. I hope everybody else will be able to see them someday, too.
*AME: Did you ever dress up as a robot for Halloween? Will you this Halloween?
DAN: No and no.
AME: (giggling) That’s what you think!
DAN: What?
AME: Oh, nothing.
I am giving away two copies of Boy + Bot.
Rules for the Giveaway
*The giveaway will run from April 8 to 11:59 PM on April 11.
*You must be at least 13 to enter.
*Please pay it forward.
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Borrow Boy + Bot from your school or public library. Whenever possible, please support independent bookshops.
