The Robots Are Coming: And Other Problems [Hardcover]

Andy Rash (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up

A collection of short illustrated poems about various things that the imaginative reader might fear or worry about, including a mummy, a pirate, and giant ants.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In cartoonist Rash's clever tongue-in-cheek children's book debut, an array of shady characters, including an evil hypnotist and a voodoo doll, occasions light verse. The title poem shows zombielike robots slurping too much coffee before invading the world ("The robots are perking more mugs than required/ .../ The caffeine is working./ They're totally wired./ Jittery, zappity, burp"). "Dr. X" milks laughs from a nerdy criminal who wears microscopes on his goggles: "He was jailed because he failed/ to NOT see what we can't./ He has seen our bones and spleens/ and bras and underpants." And in the wittiest selection, a man complains, "In H-E-double hockey sticks/ the D-E-V-I-hockey stick/ just C-A-double hockey sticked/ me on his special phone." Rash uses comic-book panels and sequential images to pack a lot of action into his pages. For instance, a creature of the night transforms from grinning beast to remorseful man in eight frames that spell "werewolf," and then sends a get-well bouquet to his bandaged victim. The B-movie scenarios unfold in matte hues of rust, chemical yellow, copper green and oxidized gray on a coarse background; every classic monster looks to be painted on gritty black sandpaper. Rash isn't the first to poke fun at classic monsters, but he has a keen sense for the pleasingly corny. Ages 4-up. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 2-5. Rash, whose artwork has appeared in the New York Times, the New Yorker and the Wall Street Journal, offers a picture-book collection of 16 tongue-in-cheek poems featuring such bizarre creatures as robots, an abominable snowman, a werewolf, and the Loch Ness Monster. The tongue-in-cheek poems are punctuated by jokes, and rhyme is played for laughs: robots brew coffee in their heads ("Perkit, clankity, glurp") and get a case of coffee nerves ("Jittery, zappity, burp"). The screwball gouache and ink illustrations are played for laughs, too. They zig and zag across the pages, affording a great sense of movement and plenty of fun: the cover illustration, for example, shows robots making off with parts of the book's title. Older children might be inspired to write some goofy horror poetry of their own. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books; 1st edition (September 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 043906306X
• ISBN-13: 978-0439063067
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,351,729 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Andy Rash was born on a mountain top in Tennessee, educated in the swamps of Georgia and the canyons of New York, and lives with his wife and son in the wilds of Brooklyn. He has illustrated for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time, Entertainment Weekly and The New Yorker. He writes and illustrates children's books.

Are You A Horse has been nominated for a Missouri Building Block Award, a Washington Children's choice Award, has been adapted to DVD by Nutmeg Media, and soon will be featured in an episode of BBC Bedtime Stories.

Agent A to Agent Z was awarded a Parent's Choice Silver Honor, an Amazon Editor's Choice Award, a Brown County Book Award (Indiana), a Starred Review in Publisher's Weekly and was nominated for a Washington Children's picture Book Award. It has been adapted by Peaceable Kingdom into a Game Time Activity Tote. It is currently in development for animated television.

Ten Little Zombies: A Love Story has been optioned for a short animated film, and Superhero School has been optioned for animated television as well!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What more can you ask for?, February 24, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Robots Are Coming: And Other Problems (Hardcover)

This book is funny, and well drawn, and full of surprises, and it works on a few levels at once. I like the slightly edgy feel of the work, but I'm a slightly edgy ex-kid. I don't see why the sugary books should get all the glory... why not try a book that presumes you're intelligent AND like a good laugh?

More like this, please.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So funny!, October 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Robots Are Coming: And Other Problems (Hardcover)

This is a beautifully illustrated, funny book. Rash's art is colorful and inventive, and the accompanying "problems" are clever and intelligent. This a book for both children and adults to read and enjoy together!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars we love this book, June 27, 2001

By 

L. Beatty (New Orleans, La.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Robots Are Coming: And Other Problems (Hardcover)

The Robots are Coming was a Christmas present for my 4-year-old son and even in June it is still such a favorite I had to write a review. We love it. The poetry is catchy and just slightly subversive so as to be hysterical. It holds up fabulously well reading after reading after reading. The illustrations are wonderful and match perfectly. Whoever didn't like this book either didn't get the humor or maybe has a bad relationship with the author! My 4-year-old doesn't understand all the text, and neither does his 3-year-old brother, but they both adore the book. It makes an excellent gift for just about any age.