Robot Dreams
by Sara Varon
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 371)
Read in May, 2008
recommends it for:
guilt-trippers,robots
Do you like sadness? Or are you one of those obnoxious, high-calorie-expending, diligently regular, foot-tappin' Katrina and the Waves fans who has never tasted the cruel, tongue-curling tang of Miserable Reality? If you're a twinkling example of the latter genre of human temperament, please go put on a Kenny G. disc and make that squeaky-farty noise as your butt skin skids against your fiberglass tub as the prologue to a soul-nourishing bubble bath. Everyone else (i.e., the sane ones), c...more
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Read in April, 2008
I rarely feel the need to quote a back-of-the-book blurb, but this time, I feel it's the best way to capture my thoughts on this one. Tom Devlin says, "With Robot Dreams, Sara Varon has managed to make a comic that is not only cute and fun but heartbreaking as well." This is completely true. The artwork, as you can tell from the cover, is not unlike what you might find in a children's book. There's a happy robot and his dog, with everything from raccoons to snowmen gracing the back...more
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ROBOT dreams by Sara Varon.
True friendship is not always expressed with words. It is communicated with a look, through one’s actions, a comfortable togetherness. A good book also is not always expressed with words. A well drawn picture, cleverly sequenced panels, a close-up image is all that is needed to say what words cannot. Such is the case with Sara Varon’s ROBOT dreams, which with pictures alone, tells the tale friendship, loss, and hope.
One August Dog sends away for a friend, h...more
True friendship is not always expressed with words. It is communicated with a look, through one’s actions, a comfortable togetherness. A good book also is not always expressed with words. A well drawn picture, cleverly sequenced panels, a close-up image is all that is needed to say what words cannot. Such is the case with Sara Varon’s ROBOT dreams, which with pictures alone, tells the tale friendship, loss, and hope.
One August Dog sends away for a friend, h...more
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Read in April, 2008
If you read this book, you might start to think it's about relationships or the inevitability of loss and how people deal with it. you might begin to empathize with a robot or a dog. you might gasp out loud and you might feel like crying at some points. you might recognize that people change people unintentionally and that few interactions go by that don't form some new reality. you might feel equally hopeful and sad when you close the last page. and then you might over use the word might becaus...more
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11 comments
Read in January, 2008
in a sentence: an emotional story of friendship, abandonment, and hope between a dog and his robot.
a dog buys and builds a robot. the dog and this robot have many adventures together and do things like watch movies, hangout at the library, and go to the beach. when robot goes INTO the water, their relationship changes.
i am amazed at how moving this graphic novel could be. the illustrations are not only fun to look at and take in, but also there are little details that give away the depth...more
a dog buys and builds a robot. the dog and this robot have many adventures together and do things like watch movies, hangout at the library, and go to the beach. when robot goes INTO the water, their relationship changes.
i am amazed at how moving this graphic novel could be. the illustrations are not only fun to look at and take in, but also there are little details that give away the depth...more
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Read in June, 2008
A dog sends away for a DIY robot kit so that he (I'm assuming it's a he?) can have a friend. After completing the robot the two are very happy together--going to the library to borrow movies and plan vacations. The two go to a beach where the dog, in a very poor decision, persuades the robot to come swimming. They have fun, but at the end of the day the robot is rusted and stuck and can't move. The dog leaves and then we see what happens to both the dog and the robot. The dog goes off and tries ...more
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Read in May, 2008
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Read in May, 2008
"Robot Dreams" is a graphic novel that you can read from start to finish while you eat your lunch, as long as you also have dessert and eat slowly.
I love the beginning where dog is lonely, so he constructs a robot from a mail order kit. This robot becomes dog’s best friend. It is a great touch to see the robot carrying the movie "Castle in the Sky" which is a nice tribute to anime and of course robot enjoys watching the robots in the movie.
Dog and his friend robot g...more
I love the beginning where dog is lonely, so he constructs a robot from a mail order kit. This robot becomes dog’s best friend. It is a great touch to see the robot carrying the movie "Castle in the Sky" which is a nice tribute to anime and of course robot enjoys watching the robots in the movie.
Dog and his friend robot g...more
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Read in November, 2007
At a glance, this is a quick, wordless comic about a dog and his robot friend, and how the robot got rusty at the beach. But the kick in the gut is that after the robot gets rusty, Dog doesn't know what to do. So he leaves. And tries to make new friends, all of whom abandon him in some way or another (the duck family that flies south, the snowman who melts, the anteaters whose epicurean tastes don't agree with Dog's stomach). All the while, Robot lies on the beach, dreaming of salvati...more
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Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
3rd grade and up
I can hear Luke saying, "Five stars?!?!" (sorry Luke :), but I'm rating this one high because even though it's heartbreaking, it tells its story so well. Dog and Robot are best friends, but when Robot rusts on the beach and Dog leaves him, Dog finds that nothing else can really fill that space. This book is sure to resonate with anyone who's ever lost a friend. I couldn't imagine how it would end, but the last picture gave me a lump in my throat. Not to mention p. 90, when Robot (in hi...more
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4 comments
Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
friends
i was excited to read this book because it is about robots and dreams which are some of my favorite things. the book would receive five stars if dinosaurs had been somehow incorporated. one of the best scenes is when the robot is turned into a radio
and then he and the repairman start dancing.
most people can identify with the gain and loss of friendship that is the theme of this book. you always remember the people were great friends but for whatever reason you stopped talking. you st...more
and then he and the repairman start dancing.
most people can identify with the gain and loss of friendship that is the theme of this book. you always remember the people were great friends but for whatever reason you stopped talking. you st...more
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Read in August, 2007
What a surprise this book turned out to be. It looks like a charming little story for kids about a dog and his robot best friend, told all in pictures without any dialogue. And sure, it works on that level. But there is a real emotional depth, too.
I sat and flipped through it with my 2-year old nephew before really reading it and pointed out to him some of the cute pictures. "Look at the robot swimming," I said. "Look at the dog flying a kite." I'm glad we stopped bef...more
I sat and flipped through it with my 2-year old nephew before really reading it and pointed out to him some of the cute pictures. "Look at the robot swimming," I said. "Look at the dog flying a kite." I'm glad we stopped bef...more
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Read in June, 2007
This is a heartbreaking word-less graphic novel about a doomed friendship. Dog wants a friend, so mail orders a build-your-own robot kit. Dog and Robot have lots of fun together--mainly reading books and watching movies from the library.
Then Dog takes Robot to the beach. After swimming and lying in the sun all day, Robot has rusted and can't move. Dog leaves him there. Dog studies up on robot repair, but by the time he gets back to the beach, it is closed.
Robot spends the winter, buried ...more
Then Dog takes Robot to the beach. After swimming and lying in the sun all day, Robot has rusted and can't move. Dog leaves him there. Dog studies up on robot repair, but by the time he gets back to the beach, it is closed.
Robot spends the winter, buried ...more
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Read in February, 2008
This graphic novel is composed almost entirely of images. In some ways, the drawing and colours seemed overly simplistic, but I think there’s something a bit more complex going on with the plot—the dream sequences and commentary on relationships, longing, and attachment. The various (mis)uses of the robot after he’s left on the beach made me consider the term use/usefulness for a moment, and while this book is at times funny, I can’t imagine I’ll spend much time thinking about it. I...more
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recommends it for:
GN doubters
You don’t always need words to tell a great story. This wordless graphic novel is the story of the ill-fated friendship of two friends – a robot and a dog. A day at the beach leaves Robot rusty and unable to move. Dog has to leave him and comes back with a repair kit, but the beach is closed for the rest of the season. As the year goes by, the characters dream of what could have been, how things could be different. Dog tries to make new friends, while Robot is a victim of the environment aro...more
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Read in February, 2008
I loved this. A cute and captivating little story about a friendship between a dog and a robot, and a journey that takes them seperate ways. There isn't a single word in the book...The story is told entirely through bright (and adorable) illustrations. The story is simple and short enough that it transcends age or language barriers, but there is a depth that really makes you love and care for the characters. I picked it up and couldn't put it down, reading it in a frenzied 15 minutes and wishing...more
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Read in January, 2008
From the forthcoming May 2008 Teale, Jung, & Boerman Book Links article:
(I found this to be) a delightful, nearly wordless graphic novel. (It) tells the story of Dog and his relationship to the companion tin Robot he purchases through the mail. The real life actions of both characters and the dreams of Robot are ingeniously presented through drawings that use simple lines and colors to convey emotions surprisingly effectively. Issues of guilt, hope, and friendship come through strongly to ...more
(I found this to be) a delightful, nearly wordless graphic novel. (It) tells the story of Dog and his relationship to the companion tin Robot he purchases through the mail. The real life actions of both characters and the dreams of Robot are ingeniously presented through drawings that use simple lines and colors to convey emotions surprisingly effectively. Issues of guilt, hope, and friendship come through strongly to ...more
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recommended to Lindsey by:
Heather (sort of, I saw it on her page)
recommends it for: dog haters
recommends it for: dog haters
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Read in December, 2007
This is an awesome, poignant graphic novel told entirely in pictures. Dog wishes for companionship, and so he builds Robot, and the two become fast friends. But one day, during a trip to the beach, disaster strikes: Robot goes swimming, and becomes immobile due to rust. Unsure what to do, Dog leaves him. The rest of the story chronicles Dog's guilt and search for new friends, alternated with Robot's dreams as he lies on the beach. It's a very simple story, but it ends up wonderfully evoking...more
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Read in September, 2007
Sara Varon's work is always poignant and funny. Her cute and witty illustrations convey a great deal of information with negligible language. No doubt a social scientist (linguist, sociologist, etc.) would insert the appropriate theory or term at this juncture. The ephemeral and fragile nature of friendship can be sad. I have watched most of my friendships shift over time and geography. I try to stay in touch and not take any friends for granted. Yes, I cried at the end of this book.
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