Member Reviews
This is SO CUTE! I honestly love it, and the message is fantastic. My boys and I both enjoyed it, and my youngest (3) has requested it to be re-read at least a few times. I admit that I am a sucker for "Love yourself and your uniqueness" books, and this one is wonderful. The illustrations hold interest, as well, and really give life to the words.
I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I loved the pictures in this book. They were so bright and engaging. The story was cute and flowed nicely. I highly suggest it.
Rusty the Squeaky Robot is a picturebook written and illustrated by Neil Clark. Rusty is a friendly robot, but he’s feeling down about the way that he sounds. The other robots on Planet Robotone – show Rusty that being a little bit different is the best way to be, and together make a song and dance together that celebrates their differences.
Rusty the Squeaky Robot has bright and bold illustrations. The story is all about being yourself and friendship. Rusty does not like that he is different, however he quickly discovers that everyone is different and when we accept each other, and work together, those differences make things beautiful and a lot more fun. I think children are much better at this that adults, and will quickly understand the lesson and enjoy finding ways to pool talents and differences in their own classrooms, families, or other groups. I like that the story is fun, and while the lesson is clear it does not feel like it is being spoon fed or forced on the reader, which always bothers me. I enjoy the fact that stories like this can help encourage empathy, acceptance, and further discussion.
(A copy was provided to read and review.)
I'm a total fan of picture books with "sounds". Children engage much better with a story, when they can get involved and one of the best ways to achieve this, you'll find here, Rusty the Squeaky Robot is a lovely book about being perfect, just the way you are.
Rusty is a little robot who lives on Planet Robotone, which is actually a very clever name for his world as the reader will quickly understand.
As our Rusty is, well, a little rusty, he squeaks when he moves and he doesn't like it one bit. He feels ashamed of all the noise he's making and as he dislikes himself for who he is, he keeps himself to himself and is lonely and sad.
Suddenly there's Belle and she sure got her name for a reason as a tiny bell is attached to her and every time she moves there's a DING. Next there's Hoot who can produce the most wonderful HONK and Twango's TWANG sure has him stand out.
All these cheerful robots who rattle and shake and make the most special noises, show our Rusty, there's no need to be alone and to feel low, we are all special.
And together as friends, they can create even more sounds and with the help of Boom-Bot who's speciality is a fabulous BOOM, they can even dance along.
This book is huge fun with a strong message to embrace individuality. A lovely rhyming story enhanced by cheerful and colourful illustrations, which will help kids to feel more confident about who they are and accept, that we are all special in our own way and that it's OK to be different.
As Rusty would say:
"It's OK to be different. It's OK to be me.
My Sound makes me special. That's how we should all be."
My preschoolers absolutely love the book and so do I. Highly recommended.
A sweet and simple story for the youngest readers. Bright colored pictures of fun shapes make up Rusty the Robot and all of his friends. Together they discover that their difference noises can harmonize together for a fun song. Great for a read aloud.
Poor little Rusty the Squeaky Robot. Rust is very sad. With every move he makes he squeaks. The other robots try to show Rusty how being different is good. All of the robots make a song using their own unique noise as the music to show the good thing about being different.
This was a great book. The kids and I both loved the colorful illustrations. I loved that this book is educational in it teaches that being different is perfectly all right and actually the best way to be.
I received this book from the Author or Publisher via Netgalley.com to read and review.
I found a brand new book to LOVE! Rusty is a squeaky robot, who doesn't like the way he sounds. As he explores Planet Robotone, he discovers friends who all have a unique sound of their own.
This title is the perfect lesson in acceptance. Each new friend accepts and celebrates the differences in one another. With fun, colorful pictures (who doesn't love robots?!?) and a great rhythmic rhyme pattern and repetitious sounds, children are going to love this as a fun read aloud. I highly recommend adding it to the public, school, classroom or home library.
This was a cute book. I really enjoyed the illustrations and bright colors, but I thought the rhyme scheme at times had an awkward flow to it. The message the book sends is great for students though, and I’m already picturing a fun storyline with lots of noises! Thank you, NetGalkey for the ARC!
This is a fun, quick read which is brightly coloured and lovingly illustrated.
The depth to be found in this book is in its celebration of what makes us all unique. Rusty doesn't like the way he sounds but he comes to realise how great the little things that make us all different can be. This is an obvious and nice teaching point. I'd recommend using this book with children in KS1 or early years. I can already think of a few children I have taught in the past who would have loved reading about a robot in space if nothing else!
A real bonus here is the use of geometric shapes in the illustrations. This book could lend itself to crossing over into the teaching of shape in mathematics lessons as well. This use adds to he usefulness of the book and the style suits the characters perfectly.
A solid book for ages 4-7.
I love robot picture books, so I had high expectations for “Rusty the Squeaky Robot.” They were met! I loved it, and it’s perfect for story time because it’s short and has a lot of great sound effects. Wonderful!
This book is sooooo close to a 5 star book. It gets a mark down to a 4.5 star because there are pages where the rhyme loses it cadence and causes the reader to stumble. Besides that, I LOVE this story. A robot hates his squeaks until he meets other robots and leans that everyone has something unique that should be celebrated. The illustrations are fun and colorful, the story divine, and overall just a happy read.
Rusty is an insecure and troubled little Robot because he squeaks! He feels terrible about it. Every time he moves he emits an aura of unpleasant sound. The other robots on Planet Robotone come to his rescue.
You see his friend Belle goes Ding, Hoot - Honks, Twango - Twangs and Boom-Bot loudly dissonates - BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! When he sizes up his friends and tunes in to their idiosyncracies he discovers that he is not weird or quirky at all. His robot friends rally around him and encourage his individual mannerisms and help celebrate his uniqueness.
They all band together and make a joyful noise dancing away to their audio sensations.
The illustrations are colourful, adorable, contemporary and very kid-friendly indeed. This entertaining story will spark conversations about being different and how we should embrace being who we are created to be confident that are wonderfully made inside and out. I highly recommend this book.
Rusty is a squeaky robot who is doesn't like his squeak! His friends help him see that everybot is different and that is what makes them all special. This is a fun book about accepting yourself for who you are. I love the illustrations.
I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was such an adorably sweet book about a robot named Rusty, and how he learns to love his squeaky self. A great book to read to your little ones at bedtime. Filled with lovable characters, colorful pages, and a touching story of helping friends build self esteem, this book was such a pleasant surprise. I loved it!
I have received a much appreciated digital copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This is a great book to read to children who are worried that they are different or that there is something wrong with them. It would also assist with other children about how they can help when someone else is feeling this way. It is a very simple story with bright, colorful illustrations and a great message.
Rusty is a bright orange, square-headed robot who hates the sound he makes. He squeaks and he can not stop doing it. As he is bemoaning his noise, along comes Belle who makes a Ding-Ding noise. When they put their sounds together, they sound good. As they continue along their way, they meet up with other friends that make various sounds. At the end of the book they put all their sounds together and with a squeak, ding, honk, twang and boom, they make wonderful music that they can jump and dance to.
Not only does this book have a great message, but it is just fun. Young kids will love copying the sounds when they learn what kinds of noises these contraptions can make. A story that could also be used in a music class. My grandchildren and their cousins had fun trying to make them all and decide who was the loudest. My ears, were not having as much fun as they were. A great book for family, school, class and public libraries.
This is a great book with the most amazing illustrations. The story is simple, with Rusty the robot being upset at the squeaking noise that he makes. He sets off on a quest to find help, and encounters some other noisy robots along the way, who help him to understand that together their noises are things to be proud of. It's a gentle take on friendship and acceptance that is easy to understand for children. The illustrations are fantastic, and really lift the book to the next level. This book is a great prompt for a lot of discussions with children, not least about what noise they would make as a robot!
This is a super cute picture book about appreciating differences. The art work is very engaging and I think the kids will like the characters, who each have their own reason to be special.
Domo Arigato Mr Roboto
"Rusty the Squeaky Robot" tells the tale of a little robot who is ashamed of the squeaky sound he makes
Rusty meets friends who make all sorts of other sounds. "Rusty" is all about discovering your own sound - whether it be a squeak, a twang or a bloop.
This is a sweet, well-illustrated picture book with such a nifty style. The message of the picture book is 3 stars, but the illustrations are so arresting and evocative that any child would be slack-jawed at the picturesque allure.
It also features the most creative use of an ISBN ever:
This is a great children’s book. It teaches us a lesson. We are all different, and beautiful in our own unique way.
“He squeaked in the daytime and squeaked through the night. / He squeaked so much it gave him a fright!” Rusty doesn’t like his squeak so he can’t like himself. Belle, who is also a robot but shaped like a bell, is happy but she has a “dinging” sound that she deals with. She assures Rusty that she will try to help him with his squeaking. She then asks him to follow her.
They head off with a DING and a SQUEAK. They meet Hoot who is also happy but dealing with a HONK. “Let’s all loosen up, have fun and play. / Enjoy yourself, Rusty. It’s a much better way!” says Hoot. Together they travel on with a HONK, DING, and SQUEAK. But will Rusty ever find the help he needs to be happy with his squeak?
Cons: At times this rhyming text felt hard to read.
Pros: While Rusty wasn’t able to change, he was able to own his individuality and embrace diversity. It’s a story of friendship, empathy, diversity, understanding, and growth. Young kids will no doubt enjoy making the sounds each robot makes.