Madhouse Family Reviews: Picture book review : Robopop

Monday, 30 March 2015

Picture book review : Robopop - Alice Hemming

Having already reviewed, and loved, The Black and White Club and Bibble and the Bubbles, we were delighted when Maverick Books sent us a new picture book from Alice Hemming to review. This one is called Robopop which made me smile because I'm sure the allusion to Robocop will go right over little readers' heads.

The story introduces us to Dylan and Daisy who think their dad is a bit rubbish because he's no good at football and doesn't have a sensible job like the other dads at their 'Bring Your Dad To School Day'. All together now - awww !

Well, he may be rubbish at football but he is good at inventing things so he comes up with Robopop, a robotic dad who is excellent at getting the kids in top form for playing.

They may initially be happy but the kids soon discover that the robot dad is just a bit too full on and they'd rather have their own dad back after all.

I loved the fact that all through the story, the real dad is hanging about behind the scenes keeping an eye on his ungrateful offspring. Pierre also loved looking out for him and his weird and wacky disguises and hiding places.

All's well that ends well when they manage to transform Robopop into a lean mean cleaning machine - I quite fancy having one of those myself !

It's a lovely story about appreciating the people in your life, quirks and all, and also about what being a dad is really all about. I found it slightly odd that there is no mention of a mum anywhere at all in the story but the Madhouse kids didn't pick up on this and there are plenty of single-parent families out there anyway.

As usual, the story is really brought to life by the fun, colourful illustrations (courtesy of James Lent).

star rating : 4.5/5