R Is for Robot

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY APR 28, 2014

Mechanical sounds and onomatopoeia, from ahoogah to zap, emanate from this "noisy alphabet." Various robots toil on or near enormous letters in a grassy field, against an empty white sky. One automaton shelters from the "clang clink crash clank" of showering metal C's, another uses an electric "jolt" on a giant J, and one stands near an oversize R to play "ratatattat" on a snare drum. Watkins's (Literally Disturbed) robot caricatures feature antlike faces, toothy smiles, and sundry wheels or appliances attached to their jointed or telescoping limbs. Depending on the slapstick moment, such as hoisting a W with a helicopter's "whirr" or emitting a flatulent "meep," the bots wear cheesy grins or woe-is-me hangdog expressions. Noises aside, though, Watkins doesn't explore the letters in a significant way. The riveted, finished letters serve as backdrops rather than purposeful props, with attention squarely focused on the robots' antics. A few alphabet-themed items appear here and there (a rose, an umbrella) but largely come across as tacked on. Ages 3 5.