cover image Robot Burp Head Smartypants

Robot Burp Head Smartypants

Annette Simon. Candlewick, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-7636-6582-1

The geometric robots from Robot Zombie Frankenstein! (2012) return, and their competitive spirit is undiminished. This time, they’re embroiled in a motor oil–fueled belching contest, giving readers a crash course in numbers and letters as they cram as much verbiage as possible into their burps. “Brrr—1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-20-30-40-50-A-B-C-D—rrrp!” booms the magenta robot at one point, juggling apples blindfolded while riding a skateboard, to boot. Simon’s storytelling and artwork continue to be an unlikely (and effective) combination of pared-down restraint and hyperbolic spontaneity, and of course it’s hard to go wrong with the subject of bodily emissions. Ages 4–8. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. (Feb.)