Robot Dreams - by Sara Varon (Paperback)

About the Book

This moving, charming, and wordless graphic novel about a dog and a robot shows in poignant detail how powerful and fragile relationships are, as it depicts 12 months in dreams and quiet moments in the life of a dog and a robot. Full color.

Book Synopsis

A graphic novel classic -- and now an Oscar-nominated animated feature!

After best friends Robot and Dog spend a happy day at the beach, Robot's joints freeze up--they've become rusted through by the water. Dog is powerless to help Robot, who can't move an inch and is too heavy for Dog to carry.

Eventually, Dog makes the difficult decision to leave Robot there, and return alone to the life they shared.
The memory of their friendship lingers, and as the seasons pass, Dog makes (and loses) new friends, from a melting snowman to epicurean anteaters.

But Robot, lying rusting on the beach, finds solace in dreams.

A masterwork in wordless cartooning, Sara Varon's Robot Dreams is a whimsical and poignant meditation on the power and fragility of relationships.

Review Quotes

A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
An ALSC Notable Children's Book
A YALSA Great Graphic Novel

"Tender, funny and wise." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Invested with true emotion." --Booklist, starred review

"This almost wordless (and dialogue-free) graphic novel is by turns funny and poignant . . . it will stay with readers long after they put it down." --School Library Journal, starred review

"Emotional experiences are shared without a word in this graphic novel that elicits laughter, tears, and a realization of the complexity of friendships." --NCTE Notable Book in the Language Arts Review"Tender, funny and wise." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Invested with true emotion." --Booklist, starred review

"This almost wordless (and dialogue-free) graphic novel is by turns funny and poignant . . . it will stay with readers long after they put it down." --School Library Journal, starred review

"Sophisticatedly understated, with subtle gestural cues and colors in a minor key, yet the blossoming friendship between the dog and the robot is unmistakably joyful." --Kirkus Reviews

"This is one of those rare pieces that truly qualifies as an all-ages graphic novel, with a wordless story (save for the occasional bits of signage, printed ephemera, and free-floating sound effects and exclamations) packed with enough droll events to engage primary-schoolers, and bittersweet observations on the mutable nature of friendships best understood by those who've been around long enough to win some and lose some." --The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Recommended Book

"In Sara Varon's graphic novels, characters navigate seemingly simple but profound missions that are unexpectedly affecting." --New York Magazine

About the Author

Sara Varon is a graphic novelist and children's book author/illustrator living in Chicago. She is the author of Robot Dreams, which has been adapted into an Oscar-nominated animated feature film. Her other books include Odd Duck, Bake Sale, New Shoes, Hold Hands, My Pencil and Me, and the Detective Sweet Pea series. Her work has received many accolades--among others, Hold Hands was named a Best Children's Book of 2019 by the New York Times; Odd Duck was selected by Kirkus Reviews as one of the Best Children's Books of 2013; Bake Sale was chosen as a YALSA Great Graphic Novel of 2012; and Robot Dreams was on Oprah's Kids' Reading List in 2008. In 2013, Sara was a recipient of the Sendak Fellowship. saravaron.com