My Teacher Is a Robot

In this anecdotal tale, Brown (the Lucy & Andy Neanderthal series) steps out of the Stone Age into the flamboyant realm of a boy’s imagination. Fred grumps that everything his dry, no-nonsense teacher says is “robot talk,” and the boy’s boredom propels his imaginings into overdrive: a spider dangling from the ceiling morphs into a gargantuan arachnid, a clump of dirt on the rainy playground springs to life as a “mud monster,” and a history class on ancient Japan becomes a lesson on dinosaurs as several commandeer the classroom. When it’s time for a writing test, Fred carps, “I bet we aren’t even allowed to use our imaginations!”—but of course his flips into high gear, continuing to find evidence of teacher-as-robot until the final bell. Brown’s vivid, glossy cartoons drolly interject Fred’s whimsical daydreams into the classroom. Ages 3–7. [em](June) [/em]