#BookADay: BOY + BOT by Ame Dyckman and Dan Yaccarino (and advice for aspiring picture book authors and illustrators)
Just reread BOY + BOT, written by Ame Dyckman and illustrated by Dan Yaccarino (Knopf/Random House, 2012). Wonderfully entertaining story of friendship.
Synopsis: “One day, a boy and a robot meet in the woods. They play. They have fun. But when Bot gets switched off, Boy thinks he’s sick. The usual remedies—applesauce, reading a story—don’t help, so Boy tucks the sick Bot in, then falls asleep. Bot is worried when he powers on and finds his friend powered off. He takes Boy home with him and tries all his remedies: oil, reading an instruction manual. Nothing revives the malfunctioning Boy! Can the Inventor help fix him? Using the perfect blend of sweetness and humor, this story of an adorable duo will win the hearts of the very youngest readers.”
I read each of these #BookADay picture books out loud to myself in my home office, as I’ve mentioned before. I STRONGLY STRONGLY RECOMMEND that aspiring children’s picture authors and illustrators do this, both for other people’s picture books as well as your own works-in-progress.
In this readaloud, it was SO fun to do the robot’s voice. I also loved the text and visual parallels in how the boy and robot tried to fix each other.
Kidlit types on Twitter, by the way, need to follow Ame Dyckman at @AmeDyckman. She is bubbly, energetic, enthusiastic, and a joy to read. I interviewed Ame about BOY + BOT on Inkygirl a while back and was delighted to meet her in person at SCBWI-LA some time later.
Ame’s newest book is TEA PARTY RULES, illustrated by K.G. Campbell and published by Viking.
More info: Donalyn Miller’s Summer Book-A-Day Challenge | Archives of my #BookADay posts.