@smolrobots is one of the best things on Twitter. Their book distills that loveliness and tells us more about 100 of these marvellous creations. Warning 1: Contains me as a Pledgebot. Warning 2: Contains the best description of a lychee ever.
I helped to crowdfund this so was very excited to see my copies arrive yesterday! Small Robots is a Twitter account which regularly posts drawings of robots designed for very specific tasks. For instance, Booksbot swoops in and hides your new books so you don't have to feel guilty about adding to the pile of books you already have waiting on your TBR! Teabot brings you tea (and only tea). Guestshowerbot helps you figure out the arcane controls on your friend's shower.
This book contains 100 robot friends, along with crochet patterns for two of them (I haven't tried the patterns yet). The drawings are adorable and often funny; sometimes the bots are uplifting (like Hopebot) and sometimes they're bizarre (Bingliesbot); this collection includes commentary on their purpose and designs which is also often adorable and/or funny. It's a chunky little book and one which can be dipped into at will.
True story: my copy fell open at Booksbot when I first picked it up, and given I hadn't even previously been aware of this bot, it felt like fate. I need a bookmark with this friend on, at the very least...
I've followed the @smolrobots account on twitter for a few years now and it never fails to bring joy to my newsfeed. When this book was announced I had no hesitation in contributing and I was so pleased when it arrived.
The world of Small Robots is one where kindness, helpfulness and extreme specificity to the point of glorious ridiculousness abounds. This book brings all of this together with delightful descriptions and additional illustrations that made reading it an even greater delight. The diversity of robots from Teabot to Dogbot to Notokaybot means that there's a robot for you on whichever day you choose to dip into the book.
There are some robots that mean an awful lot to me, that can help me get through a bad day. And there are some that amuse me with their silliness. But all of them leave me smiling and the value of that can't be overestimated.
Buy the book and check out the twitter account. You won't regret it.
Sometimes a book arrives and the sheer joy of knowing what’s in it is enough to make me do a lap of the warehouse just so I can exclaim my delight at my poor flatmate. Occasionally I accidentally smack him in the face with an overeager book thrust.
This was one of these books.
Small Robots have been a long-standing bringer of joy to my twitter account, so pledging to bring this small, pink, hardcover piece of joy to life was a no-brainer. I’m delighted by the mixture of robots I already knew, interspersed with pals new or somewhat forgotten.
But don’t take my word for it. 100 tiny robot pals await you.
The three laws of small robotics 1. Be kind 2. Be helpful 3. Do your best
An utterly wonderful book. Cute, funny and poignant all at the same time. Made me laugh out loud (Dairybot pointing at cows) and shed a few tears (Hopebot reaching out its little hand). The world needs more Small Robots.
This is one of those books that I think will be read over and over. I've been following @smolrobots on Twitter for a long time, and this book was definitely worth the purchase. The extra information about some of my favourite bots was exactly what I wanted, and my daughter was impatient for me to read it so she could talk about her favourites with me. So good.