Robots at Work and Play

Children's Literature - Amy S. Hansen

Part of the "Robots and Robotics" series, this book will fly off the shelf. Info-seeking readers will revel in assembly-line robots, robots doing housework, and toy robots. One of the toys discussed is Aibo, a programmable robot dog. "Aibo is a toy robot, made to look and act like a dog. When it is first started, Aibo acts like an inquisitive puppy. It will walk around, exploring the area. When its batteries run low, Aibo seeks out its battery-charging unit. It ‘sleeps' while the batteries are recharging." Colorful photos take up at least one-third of each page. This is a high-tech book, which discusses real science. It feels, though, like these robots are out of a science-fiction story, though this particular book touches on robots with which children are likely to be more familiar. Back matter includes instructions for building a robot using Lego Mindstorms, a glossary, and an index. Reviewer: Amy S. Hansen