Robot’s First Snow

PreS-Gr 2–Dissatisfied with the monotony of its role on a factory assembly line, a robot finds new purpose and joy when an unexpected snow day creates a break in the routine. With the day’s tasks cancelled for weather, the robot ventures outside to make snowballs and snowmen (or rather, snowbots). While enjoyable, the charm of this solo endeavor is somehow lacking for the robot until it spots a group of humans (a white family) frolicking in the snow and recruits its bot friends to join them. As the bots and humans play together and help each other enjoy the day, the narrative concludes with an uplifting affirmation about the satisfaction of building community. Though the book’s theme of collaboration and friendship may not break new ground, it is an evergreen message that bears repeated explorations. Young readers will delight in the robot antics and the cozy winter setting. Large, subtly textured illustrations complement the story’s endearing tone, offering remarkably expressive robot character designs and human characters portrayed with a variety of skin tones. Rhyming text is cleanly laid out and easy to follow, with robot dialog differentiated by orange computerized lettering, creating a clever visual cue for those who want to adopt a robotic voice for reading those sections aloud. The human at the factory is a white man, and there is some diversity on the closing pages.