Rolie Polie Olie

Rolie Polie Olie

by William Joyce

Rolie Polie Olie lives a happy life on a planet full of friendly robots, with his parents, his sister Zowie, and his dog Spot, and if something goes wrong, a rumba dance fixes everything. Reprint.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Robots, Family, Fiction, Storytime, Science Fiction

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

William Joyce does a lot of stuff—films, apps, Olympic curling—but children’s books are his true bailiwick (The Numberlys, The Man in the Moon, Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King, Toothiana, and the #1 New York Times bestselling The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, which is also an Academy Award–winning short film, to name a few). He lives with his family in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fit the bill. I was looking for something else by William Joyce and my nephew is crazy obsessed with robots. This is a day in the life of Olie, the robot and his family. It is very similar to my nephew, especially the part about getting so wild right before bed that he gets in trouble.

My Nephew is crazy about this book and he relates to the character. He read it twice last night and he put it back in his to read pile.

I thought it was a good solid story and it didn't blow me away, so the 4 stars is partly his excitement over the story.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little rolie polie robot living on a little round planet in the sky, Rolie Polie Olie passes an enjoyable day with his loving family in this rhyming picture-book from author/artist William Joyce. Bouncing out of bed in the morning and brushing his teeth while his head recharges, Olie has all sorts of fun with his Momma, Dad, little sister Zowie, and dog Spot. When bedtime comes, Olie makes a nuisance of himself, but not so much that his family won't forgive him...

Originally published in 1999, and recently reprinted in this 2017 edition, Rolie Polie Olie launched an extensive series of picture-books, board-books and other titles devoted to the adventures of the eponymous robot hero. There is also a television series based on this character and his family, I believe - a series which netted Joyce an Emmy Award. Although I do think the combination of rollicking rhyme and bright artwork will please many child readers, I'm not sure I enjoyed this one as much as some of Joyce's other picture-books, such as The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore or The Guardians of Childhood titles. Still, this one does have appeal, especially to children who like robots, and it is to them that I recommend it.

[Ashley Cousin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The very first thing I noticed when I picked up this book was the vivid colors and animation. I know that the book was also a Dinsey Channel show, but the picture book itself demonstrated amazing quality and detailed pictures throughout. The dust jacket is the exact same as the hard cover and the end pages are of green and big white dots. Everything about Rolie Polie Olie screams out primary age group to me. With the context of the story-done with vocab appropriate for the younger age groups, to the pictures with immense color. Another thing that adds to the book is the typeface of the story itself, it is of a strange font that I have never seen before that reminds you of being made from wires and mechantical things (which is what Rolie Polie Olie is made of).

[Mackenzie Ford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title: Rolie Polie Olie
Author: William Joyce
Illustrator: N/A
Genre: Picture Book
Theme(s): Fiction, Circle, Robots, Family, Rhyming
Opening Line/ Sentence: Way up high in the Rolie Polie Sky is a little round planet of a really swell guy.

Brief Book Summary:
This book is about the well-known character from a television series names Rollie Pollie Ollie. This book goes through the daily like of Rolie Polie Olie with his family. Then before bed when he has a lot of energy he pops his sister’s bubble and is sent straight to bed. He lies in bed and realizes he did wrong and just wants his family and then they all come back together before bed.

Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Naomi Butler (Children's Literature)
Rolie Polie Olie, a round robot, who lives on a planet where everything is round, enjoys a busy day with his family and then is too wired to go to bed at night. This is a picture book about robots, circles, and a story in rhyme. The rhyme is fun and the pictures are colorful so little children will enjoy the book. An adult or a sibling will make the book exciting. There are lots of action and fun things going on. Some things in the pictures may need a little explanation for the very young child. It may even give one ideas for improvising toys and activities. The round shapes will make it a good teaching activity for children to identify and discuss. One could call it clever. Some reviewers have called it visually dazzling and engagingly whimsical. The paperback format will lend itself to home purchase and child use. 1999, A Laura Geringer Book/Harper Collins Publisher, $6.99. Ages 2 to 5.

Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Meredith Kiger, Ph.D. (Children's Literature)
A refreshing approach in children's books, this amazing story and its equally amazing pictures are fun, quirky and a bit off the wall. Rolie Polie, a little round robot guy, lives with his family on a round planet. Everything is round, you see, and the story takes us through Rolie Polie's day. The rhyming text is fun to say out loud and hear due to its comic and repetitious verses. The computer-generated characters are sure to become classics. In fact, they have already been made into a cartoon series for the Disney channel. Rolie Polie acts just like a normal kid, but in not so normal surroundings. Very appealing and now available in board book form! 2003 (orig. 1999), HarperCollins, $6.99. Ages 2 to 6.

Response to Two Professional Reviews:
I thought that both professional reviews were very well written and were not just all a description of what the book was about. As a child I remember reading this book over and over and watching the television series. I think that this book is very catchy for children. I like how the second professional review stated that children are able to relate with the character and familiarize themselves with the character especially because there is a television series. I also liked how the first professional review commented on the different shapes throughout the entire book and this could be a great book to use with children for a math lesson.

Evaluation of Literary Elements:
Throughout this entire book the author creates a lot of rhyming with every other sentence for the readers. The lines in this book are very catchy and young readers will find them catchy as well. Also the illustrator of this book illustrated the pages to present pictures in the crease of the book as well on both pages. This allowed the illustrator to create more within the pictures. At the end of this book the author ended the last page with repetition of how Rolie Polie Olie starts off his day so the readers can participate in this page. There was not much of a plot or lesson really taught with this book rather than just rhyming words of how Rolie Polie Olie's day went.

Consideration to Instructional Application:
This book presented a lot of rhyming words for the readers. An instructional application that can be used as an activity for students after this book can be with the use of different rhyming words. Students can be given a stack of different words with the correct rhyming word in the deck and the students can be asked to sort and match these different rhyming words.

[Shannon D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rolie Polie Olie is about a little "boy" and what his day is like. It starts off with Rolie Polie Olie waking up and what he does in the morning. We are then introduced to his family and his pet. Olie and his family do the chores together after breakfast, but they have fun doing them. Then in the afternoon they all go to the playground and play all sorts of games. After a long day of fun, it is bedtime. The problem is that Olie is not tired and is still full of energy. Olie still wants to play, but his parents are upset with him and send him right to bed anyway. So Olie goes to bed sad and says that he misses his mom and dad. When his family comes back into his room, he apologizes about how he behaved and they tucked him in so they could all have sweet Rolie Polie dreams. The story ends with the Rolie Polie family waking up for the next day. This book is for children in grades K to the beginning of 2nd. The language that is used is common, everyday words that younger children would understand. This particular plot has something that younger kids can relate to, since they most likely have encountered some of the situations that Rolie Polie Olie has. The medium that is used for the illustrations could possibly have started off being clay, and then maybe turned into computer-generated pictures. The pictures most likely are not hand drawn.The pictures used are very life-like, that is why i do not think that they were hand-drawn. If there is an outline, which it does not appear to be, the lines used would have to be extremely thin. One of the most obvious characteristic of this book is the bright colors that are used on every page. Those colorss, even though mostly primary, will derfinitely get a child's attention. This book is a great for parents to read to their children so they can discuss the different problems that Olie comes across and the different solutions that may be possible. So in my opinion, I would recommend this book to parents.

[Lauren Marotta]

Rolie Polie Olie is an adorable book for all ages! This toddler robot makes every child smile and its enjoyable to follow Rolie Polie around for the day.

They depict the family in such a charming setting and the illustrations are bright and relatable. The text is sometimes tricky and may be hard for young children to read. With the book being an enjoyable simple story it will be able to help the young readers over the tougher parts.


This book is relatable and allows children's minds to run wild! The characters in the book are fun and up beat and following the story line is fun! I think this isn't a much as a relatable book to children but young readers will sure fall in love with this story.

[Alex Albaeck]

Olie is the hero of a Disney Channel hit childrens TV show, Rolie Polie Olie. Olie lives on a planet filled with only great things. It has blue skies and friendly people (robots). Every day comes as a surprise and everything comes to life. Machines act like people and the parents have the right answers to everything. The joyful family have a life full of great and happy times in their little teapot home. This story brings happiness to all readers and all of the colorful animations make the read all the more worthwhile.

[Meredith Estes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love William Joyce's books. I have read many for older kids. This one is good for preschoolers, maybe even toddlers. The illustrations are all based on curvy shapes with a lot of circles. It's a silly story about a family who has dance parties, plays, and cleans up after themselves. Then Rollie Polie Olive gets rowdy and pops his sister's bubble, he gets in trouble and is sent to his room. When his family comes in, he apologizes. It worked on my four year olds and they laughed and the underpants jokes. Those always work.

[Randie D. Camp, M.S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am late to the game but William Joyce is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. His work is brilliant.

My first experience with Rolie Polie Olie was the preschool TV cartoon on the Disney channel. I babysat through my tween and teen years and the cartoon was loved by all the little ones and I enjoyed it too.

The book is just as lovable! Rolie Polie Olie and his family are active, bouncy, and fun. Joyce's illustrations are bright, round, and lively. Fun book!

[Ashley Klausmeyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love everything about this book. It has awesome illustrations, and not too many words. It rhymes and it even has funny parts to make the kids laugh. I think kids would really get into this book. It will teach them a lesson that family time can be fun too, and at the end of the day family is the most important thing.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first book my oldest child memorized...when she was 18 months. It is very colorful and is written in a smooth and catchy rhyme. It also has a sweet lesson at the end of parents forgiveness of a child's poor behavior.

[Anna Groves]

I love the rolie polie olie series! I think that this book allows kids to have a bright imagination, as they dance and run and play with polie olie. This book reminds me of my childhood, when this series first came out. I loved these books and to this day so do other kids.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spend a day with Rolie Polie Olie. It's not all fun, there's trouble too, but Rolie's got a good crew. Digital artwork. I liked that there were faces on virtually everything, but the text is too long to be read aloud. PreK-2.

[Tiffany Askins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book introduces Rolie Polie Olie and his family. It covers a day in the life of this active robot. I used this book to introduce the author William Joyce and get children familiar with the genre of his writing.

[AMY · Rating 5 out of 5]

PB; Rhyming story about adventures of the Rolie family. Rolie Polie Olie misbehaves and is punished but wonders if his family still loves him. Beautiful, colorful illustrations. Great story with a good lesson. Gr. K-3; Highly recommended.

[Brook Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the drawings of William Joyce!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations are awesome. In typical Rolie Polie Olie style, the text can be a bit crazy. But my son loves this book!

[Bridget · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rolie Polie Olie is a favorite character in our house.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought we'd like this more- but after reading it to Kaiya we thought it was just all right. Cute illustrations though.

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Joyce' art. This time he does robots. Okay, yeah, there's a distinct 50s look to it all, but the gender stereotyping is largely limited to the visual.

[Bridget]

On the hardcover shelf.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lyrically written story and beautiful vibrant illustrations! It's a winner for very young children - especially as a read-aloud - and or older kids and adults who just want to smile :)

[Brigid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun to read again and again. The illustrations really sparked our imaginations about this little guy and his world.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eleanor loves this book so much. I think we've read it 10,000x this week.

[Ava W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spectacular as always

[Rebecca Leedham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very similar to the children’s television series. Rolie Polie and his family spend the day playing in their yard hide and seek, with bubbles, and other activities. They do some chorse as well throughout the book. This book is simple and doesn’t have any specific theme other than simply going through a fun day with a family. One thing that I did enjoy about this book was the illustrations. Rolie Polie and his family are very different looking characters to illustrate but the vibrant illustrations throughout the book of him and his family bring the reader to feel how happy his family is together. The story was not my favorite, however, so I wouldn’t pick it as a first choice to use it with my own students. If I did use it in my classroom, I would have my students look at my illustrations to inspire creativity in themselves.

[Ember Air · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am trying to find the few William Joyce books that I haven't gotten to read yet, and this was one of them! I used to love this show, and the few books of the series I could find when I was younger. Reading this was fun and gave me a nice, warm, nostalgic feeling!!

[Katie Jimenez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the way the author used very fun words that rhymed sometimes, as it was also filled with fun text in different variations as well as very colorful. The illustrations were very interesting as they were round robots, most pages being full bleed, like looking into a window. The book was overall just fun to read and would definitely get any young children to giggle at the least. The story is about Rolie Polie Olie and his copious amounts of energy he had throughout the day. At the end of the story, the whole family was together, and they loved eachother. At the end of the story, was them doing the same thing all over again, which would be super funny for the children as well.

[Alicia Pfaff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of our all time favorite children's books. We read it so many times that we all had it memorized and had great fun 'reading' it before we turned the page. The book had to go to the literary hospital more than once to get pages stitched (with tape). It is the first book that taught me how typography choices can be just as fun as the story and illustrations, and is definitely one that influenced my writing for IF I CAN'T EAT FLIES, WHAT AM I?

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids have always loved this book! It's bright and cheerful. The thing that stands out to me about it is the depiction of a complete family: mom, dad, sister, brother, and dog. There aren't many children's books that have a full family experience - especially one so wholesome and relatable. The family shares a bed, dances together in the morning, eats breakfast together, completes chores as a unit, plays together, and shows love and a bit of discipline. It's really nice!