Cosmo and the Robot

Cosmo and the Robot
By: Brian Pinkney
Greenwillow Books 2000
Science Fiction Genre

I am happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this picture book.  I was a bit skeptical of a picture book actually being science fiction and utilizing it well without it being cheesy like teachers being aliens and such. It can be really hard to infuse science fiction into a children's book since it can be slightly complex and even in young adult books it still really doesn't work. However, I think Cosmo and the Robot did an excellent job of being a cute, simple story while still having those science fiction concepts. The main character, Cosmo, lives on Mars with his family, and has a pet robot named Rex. One of the first things I noticed is that they made it seem like it was completely normal for this family to be living on Mars and I felt by doing that they really made it easier to get into the story. There was actually a decent amount of science jargon used like the names of the planets, photons, and terrain rovers that are usually sent to Mars which was nice to see cause it felt more science like than just the typical alien story.

The best part I thought was Cosmos utility belt. It was super awesome because each item that was apart of it was named after a planet and I felt like it would be a great way to introduce planets to a student. The actual story line that followed was simple as Cosmo and his sister Jewel go out to collect rocks for their parents and find their old pet robot, Rex. He begins malfunctioning and attacking the older sister. Cosmo with his quick thinking and his handy utility belt saves his sister, but breaks Rex in the process. They eventually put Rex back together and take him back home. It is a simple little story but I felt like there was more to it. I think it could be a great lesson for kids to identify with because they can see that Cosmo is determined in everything he does throughout the book, has a great imagination, and loves to experiment with things. I think if kids read this they could possibly be more inspired to invent and experiment and being that I love science I think that is super important for students.