The Runaway Robot (Paperback)

~ Lester Del Rey (Author), Wayne Blickenstaff (Illustrator)

Product Details

• Paperback: 188 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic (July 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 059002261X
• ISBN-13: 978-0590022613
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,196,143 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lesson on the power of love, April 18, 2000

By A Customer

Having first read this book about 35 years ago, I couldn't wait to introduce my two sons to it. Using the intriguing Jupiter moon and Martian colonies as a sci-fi backdrop, Lester Del Rey spins the timeless classic of a boy and his lifelong companion Rex, a "domestic" robot. Their adventures from the outreaches of space to their final destination--Earth--are frought with peril but their love for one another is the reason for their tireless perserverence. A flawless tale of adventure and freindship. My boys absolutely loved it!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of My FAVOURITE Stories, October 23, 1999

By A Customer

This outer space *Huckeberry Finn* story has remained one of my favorite stories over the past 30 years since I first stumbled across it in the public library. Lester Del Rey has an understanding of androids -- who can recognize their superior qualities, but ultimate inferiority to humans -- that has seldom been equalled. The story of Rex (a robot named like a dog, incidentally) and his teenaged owner's attempt to get from Ganymede to Earth by stowing away, trickery, and "long-term planning" remains exciting, and is worth hunting up!

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful Del Rey, September 18, 2005

By	Gord Wilson "alivingdog.com" (Bellingham, WA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

It's no secret that some of the best books are written for kids and teens. Baby Boomers will fondly remember Scholastic Book Services before they were a mainstream publisher, and little four page weekly reader newspapers that were passed out in class. Books cost about 50 cents and you'd order them together as a class. What a great stake in classroom reading, how fun to take home your books from class, and how different than a $30 Harry Potter hardback. And what great books they were: Encyclopedia Brown, The Amazing Adventures of Alvin Fernald (part of which showed up on TV), Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine (predating PCs) are a few that come to mind. The Runaway Robot was a classic among classics, penned by golden age sci-fi author Lester Del Rey, and now collectible for it's space-theme cover. These are only a few of the great books modern librarians cycled out of libraries in their continuing war on the imagination. But until someone reprints gems like these, my advice is order yours used, and discover this long- lost classic. You'll be glad you did.