Book Descriptions
for The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess by Tom Gauld
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
A king and queen who wish for children of their own receive two: a small wooden robot crafted by an inventor, and a log princess enchanted by a witch. Every night, the princess transforms into a log and must be woken each morning by the magic words “Awake, little log, awake.” This task falls on her brother, the robot, but a distraction one morning results in a maid unwittingly tossing the princess (in log form) out of a window. The log is promptly picked up by a goblin, who sells it to the captain of a barge piled high with (non-princess) logs. In frantic pursuit of his sister, the robot boards the barge to search for her and finds himself in the frozen North. Finally recognizing his sister among the myriad similar logs, the robot begins to pull her home in a handcart. Along the way, sister and brother partake in numerous adventures—comically named but not elaborated upon—rescue one another, and are rescued in turn by friends who help them complete the journey home. The digitally colored ink-on-paper illustrations imitate woodcuts: a perfect match for this charming, original story firmly rooted in a fairy-tale world. (Ages 3-8)
CCBC Choices 2022. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2022. Used with permission.
From the Publisher
A New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Book of the Year
In this fresh new fairy tale, a wooden robot embarks on a quest to find his missing sister-- making for a memorable contemporary bedtime story in acclaimed graphic novelist Tom Gauld's first picture book for children.
For years, the king and queen have tried desperately to have a baby. Their wish was granted twice, when an engineer and a witch gave them a little wooden robot and an enchanted log princess.
But there's just one catch: every night when the log princess sleeps, she transforms back into an ordinary log, and can only be woken up with magic words.
The princess and her robot brother are are inseparable, until the sleeping princess, mistaken for lumber, is accidentally carted off to parts unknown. Now it's up to her devoted brother to find her, and get them safely back home.
They need to take turns to get each other home, and on the way, they face a host of adventures involving the Queen of Mushrooms, a magic pudding, a baby in a rosebush, and an old lady in a bottle.
This is acclaimed graphic novelist Tom Gauld's first picture book for children, inspired by a bedtime story he made up for his daughters. In his words, "I was trying to make a book inspired by three different sets of books: The books that I remember enjoying as a child, the books that I watched my daughters enjoying, and the books I enjoy now as an adult. I wanted the book to have its own quirky feeling but also to function like a classic bedtime story."
An ALSC Notable Children's Book
A Charlotte Zolotow Highly Commended Title
A People Magazine Best Kids Book of the Year
A Washington Post Best Children's Book of the Year
A Wall Street Journal Best Children's Book of the Year
A Financial Times Best Book of the Year
An NPR 'Book We Love!'
A Booklist Editors' Choice
A Shelf Awareness Best Children's Book of the Year
A Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon Book!
A Publishers Lunch Best Book of the Year
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
An Evanston Public Library Great Books for Kids pick!
A CCBC Choice
A Mighty Girl Best Book of the Year
In this fresh new fairy tale, a wooden robot embarks on a quest to find his missing sister-- making for a memorable contemporary bedtime story in acclaimed graphic novelist Tom Gauld's first picture book for children.
For years, the king and queen have tried desperately to have a baby. Their wish was granted twice, when an engineer and a witch gave them a little wooden robot and an enchanted log princess.
But there's just one catch: every night when the log princess sleeps, she transforms back into an ordinary log, and can only be woken up with magic words.
The princess and her robot brother are are inseparable, until the sleeping princess, mistaken for lumber, is accidentally carted off to parts unknown. Now it's up to her devoted brother to find her, and get them safely back home.
They need to take turns to get each other home, and on the way, they face a host of adventures involving the Queen of Mushrooms, a magic pudding, a baby in a rosebush, and an old lady in a bottle.
This is acclaimed graphic novelist Tom Gauld's first picture book for children, inspired by a bedtime story he made up for his daughters. In his words, "I was trying to make a book inspired by three different sets of books: The books that I remember enjoying as a child, the books that I watched my daughters enjoying, and the books I enjoy now as an adult. I wanted the book to have its own quirky feeling but also to function like a classic bedtime story."
An ALSC Notable Children's Book
A Charlotte Zolotow Highly Commended Title
A People Magazine Best Kids Book of the Year
A Washington Post Best Children's Book of the Year
A Wall Street Journal Best Children's Book of the Year
A Financial Times Best Book of the Year
An NPR 'Book We Love!'
A Booklist Editors' Choice
A Shelf Awareness Best Children's Book of the Year
A Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon Book!
A Publishers Lunch Best Book of the Year
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
An Evanston Public Library Great Books for Kids pick!
A CCBC Choice
A Mighty Girl Best Book of the Year
Publisher description retrieved from Google Books.
