The Wild Robot Protects

The Wild Robot #3

by Peter Brown, Kathleen Mclnerney (Narrator)

Life for Roz and the animals on their island is wild, natural, harmonious. Her son Brightbill has even found a mate! But then, one day an injured seal washes ashore and warns of dangerous, cloudy waters that are flowing toward the island—and soon the animals are forced inland to fight over dwindling resources.

Roz calms and organizes the animals, but the poison tide takes a terrible toll on the island. And when the robot discovers that her new body is waterproof, she marches into the waves and sets out across the ocean, determined to stop the poison tide.

During her undersea journey, Roz encounters amazing geological formations and incredible creatures, and she sees the devastation caused by the toxic waters. Creatures she meets along the way direct her to a mysterious character known as the Ancient Shark, who explains that the poison tide is caused by a huge station that floats on the waves; a station operated by humans and by robots. To stop them, the Ancient Shark is prepared to attack with an army of sea creatures. However, Roz hopes to find a peaceful solution, instead. Can the wild robot save the ocean and her island and everything she loves?

Genres: Middle Grade, Fiction, Science Fiction, Audiobook, Childrens, Fantasy, Adventure

Audio CD

First published September 26, 2023

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Peter Brown is an American writer and illustrator who is best known for children's picture books.

"Peter has always loved telling stories. Growing up in New Jersey, he told stories by drawing whimsical characters and scenes from his imagination. Then, as a teenager, he fell in love with writing, and told his tales with words. While studying illustration at Art Center College of Design, Peter’s love of both words and pictures led him to take several courses on children’s books, and before long he knew he’d found his calling.

After graduating from Art Center Peter moved to New York City to be closer to the publishing industry. He was working on animated TV shows when he signed a book deal to write and illustrate his first picture book, Flight of the Dodo. Peter quickly signed up his second and third books, and his career as an author and illustrator of children’s books was under way.

Peter’s books have earned him numerous honors, including a Caldecott Honor (2013) for Creepy Carrots!, two E.B. White Awards and an E.B. White Honor, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book award, a Children’s Choice Award for Illustrator of the Year, two Irma Black Honors, and five New York Times bestsellers.

Peter lives in Brooklyn, New York."

Source: About Peter Brown.

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just not as good as the first and second one. This wasn't written as a fun story for kids to get wrapped up in and enjoy. It was to teach a lesson about the environment, evils of mining, icebergs melting, animals in danger, etc. Humans are the bad guys in this story, and while they agree to work with Roz and the animals, the animals attack anyway destroying everything. I'm over stories for kids that make humans to be the bad guys. It's only sending the message that humanity isn't worth saving, but animals are.

There's also a scene towards the beginning where Roz is asked what gender she is. She says female because she was programed that way. Then she's introduced to a fish who is "different" like her. The goby fish changes genders--from female to male and back again. The broad-barred goby does physically change for the sake of procreation when there aren't any other fish of the opposite sex.

Overall, it felt so preachy about so many things--transgenderism? the environment? mining? climate change? The kids I work with would much rather have an adventure for the sake of an adventure and not be lectured through a story.

[Laura (thenerdygnomelife) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up out of recognition that I am not the intended audience. I adored the first two books in this series and was excited to embark on the third. While my middle-grade son enjoyed this as much as the other two, I found it didn't have quite the same magic and charm as its predecessors.

Robot Roz finds herself facing a new threat, together with the animals that make up her friends and family. The arrival of a toxic tide puts their future existence at risk, and Roz decides to make a bold journey through the sea to seek answers and solutions.

Peter Brown tackles some heavier issues in this book, most pointedly environmental stewardship and the need to be conscious of how our decisions impact the world around us. I felt he was a little heavy-handed on addressing Roz shifting to an empty nest life stage as Brightbill finds a mate and creates his own life, but perhaps this directness is needed for its intended juvenile audience.

[Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who LOVED the first two books in this series, I'm sad to say I did not think this one was quite as good. The Wild Robot Protects is tackling climate change and how mining harms the environment, which is great. But I felt it lacked a lot of the charm the first two books had because of how often Roz was traveling alone. And the way it ended felt a little over the top and convenient as a solution. Others may feel differently, and this was still a perfectly fine book but it wasn't as wonderfully memorable as the rest of the series.

[Vanessa M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Poison Tide is nearing the island where Roz and her family and friends live. The ocean animals need help as they are getting sick! Roz vows to find the Ancient Shark and ask for her help to combat the Poison Tide and save the ocean and the lives within. Her journey is long and arduous. She meets many new creatures and makes friends along the way.

The theme of negative human impact onto the environment is strong with this book. The group relationships between Roz and the animals is weaker as there is such a big mission to accomplish and the story focuses on that mission.

I liked books 1 and 2 better but this is a solid read.

I think young readers who love Ben Clanton's Narwhal and Jelly series would really enjoy this book about underwater animals and their lives.

by Ben Clanton

[Emma Griffioen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars! It is definitely my least favourite of the three books, but it is satisfying conclusion. Okay unexpected love story for Brightbeak! This book is a really accessible (and not too scary) way to introduce climate change and environmental consciousness to children!

Read my reviews for Peter Brown's books here:
The Wild Robot - 5 stars
The Wild Robot Escapes - 4 stars
The Wild Robot Protects - 3.5 stars

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another absolute standout middle grade novel in the Wild Robot series featuring big hearted Roz who takes to the seas to get to the bottom of a pollution problem that's affecting her beloved home.

Full of found family and important messages about resolving conflicts peacefully, standing up for what matters and protecting the environment.

This was fantastic on audio with sound affects but should be jointly read with the print version so as not to miss out on the beautiful illustrations! I can't recommend this series enough!!!

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. We all rolled our eyes immediately after starting this one and realizing the heavy-handed environmental agenda was going to rule the story. It’s not that we aren’t sympathetic to the cause…. It’s just that we could tell the story wasn’t going to feel original, fresh, and charming because of the obvious agenda.

[♥Milica♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite as fun as the past two, but it carries an important message all the same. I could see kids learning to love and appreciate our planet a bit more because of it.

3.5

[Tiffany · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first Wild Robot book was one of my all-time favorite books that I read aloud to my kids, and we really enjoyed the second one as well. This third one, however, is a major disappointment and I won’t finish reading the book to my kids.

This book has a very heavy environmental agenda, along with other things. I’m all for teaching my kids to take care of the planet we live in, but this was so heavy handed that it interfered with good storytelling and even messed with beloved characters. The whole story felt dark and sad and missed the lighthearted and hopeful tone of the other books. The story just fell flat and lost my interest in general, which was not my experience with the first two books.

There was also one chapter that clearly had a sexual identity agenda, and even had a transgender character, which I found to be highly inappropriate for a middle grade novel.

My recommendation: read the first two books (they’re delightful!) and skip this one.

[Pardha]

How d'u guys rate this book if it didn't even get published yet

[Anna Kidd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh roz 😭 one of my favorite characters. I have loved watching her learn and grow throughout the series. And her fighting climate change head-on? Cmon, it doesn’t get any better than that.

Roz has a way of bringing all forms of life together. She understands each living being with utmost intelligence. If only we could all understand and respect each other in the same way.

Big applause for our wild robot!! 👏🏼👏🏼

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this with my offspring to prepare for the movie that is allegedly (hopefully) coming? The first in the series is still my favorite, but this one had a lot of interesting conversations about the environment and the obstacles that are in the way of fixing the massive problems that humans have created. Saying that makes it sound like this would be very depressing, but it is appropriate for middle grade and it's a fun, engaging, and optimistic story.

At the same time, it is so important for young people to learn about environmental issues because, let's face it, they are our only hope for getting out of this mess, and at the same time it has the biggest impact on them (which is so incredibly unfair). I really appreciate how this book explores those issues but buries them in a cute and fun story.

This was also the first book in this series where we tried out the audio book, and it was great! Kathleen McInerney was wonderful and there are lots of little background effects which made it really fun to listen to.

[Sacha · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5*)

This was the third and last book of this series and I loved the journey very much. Roz is an amazing character and the author manages to dive into difficult topics without ever lecturing or being boring or something like it. This third adventure was even more thrilling than the second one and the stakes were quite high. A really worthy voyage. 😁👍🏻

„Roz the robot has made an unlikely home for herself on an idyllic island dense with forests, wildflowers and friendly animal inhabitants - including her own young son Brightbill the gosling. Life on the island is perfect, until a dying seal washes ashore and warns of dangerous, cloudy waters that are flowing towards the island, bringing new dangers for the animals. Forced inland they will have to fight over fewer resources - and Roz realises that she must march into the waves and undertake an incredible undersea adventure to find a way to protect her beloved island and all who live on it.“

As I mentioned in the previous reviews, the writing style is very relaxed and easy and also great for listening to the audiobook. I flew through the book again it was never boring. I found the story about the poison tide to be very interesting and well researched and I liked the ending very much. There was some action and something that felt a bit like revenge without unnecessary casualties. Really glad I read the three books back-to-back and I can really recommend all the books and the series as a whole! 😁👍🏻

[Andrew · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another book that attempts to sneak in an anthropomorphic trans message by way of fish that "change gender" because they, like Roz, are "a little different". This was obviously outside the scientific context and the author went out of his way to make it clear that these creatures were "outcasts" rather than presenting the natural phenomenon. This is absolutely disgusting and no one should give another dime to this author or the publisher. I can't speak to any other part of the book, because it doesn't matter. Once we hit the chapter with the overtly trans animals (early in the book), it went out the door. As the author states, the second book ends with a nice bow on it and there wasn't a plan for a third book. Peter should have stuck with that plan. The disingenuous claim that this book did not have a moral agenda is particularly disgusting. Do not buy or borrow this book.

[Holly Glem · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author's note made me feel more tenderly toward the book, because I can tell that Roz has such a special spot in Peter Brown's heart -- just like in ours!

This third book did not have the emotional pull and tenderness I found in the first two. I liked it and my kids did, too. But not as much. The first half of the book was really slow, a large portion of it was just Roz walking to find the Ancient Shark. She meets a lot of animals along the way, but none of them really come back into the story so it doesn't feel like it matters.

Second half read a lot faster and we were invested. Cute, fine. 3 stars. Still grateful to Brown for writing it!

[Suhasa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure whether the 3rd part would be as good as the first two, but Peter Brown does it again!
He takes an important issue of Ocean pollution and turns it into an adventure with our favourite wild Robot, Roz.
Excited to watch the upcoming movie in a couple of weeks!

[imogen · Rating 5 out of 5]

no i didnt cry at work at the end of this book

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wild Robot Protects is the third and final book in the Wild Robot series, and Peter Brown managed to create yet another educational, fun, and heartwarming story about Roz the Robot.
I absolutely adore these books. In this story, Roz is happy on her island with all her animal friends when a sinister poison tide reaches them and begins to kill off anything in its path (vegetation, animals, sea creatures, etc). Roz sets off in her new Robot body (courtesy of the maker in book 2) to find the ancient shark and form a plan to stop the poison tide and save the oceans and lands from its destruction. Roz meets many different sea creatures and finds the ocean a whole new and interesting experience.
These books are so creatively thought out and put together and offer so much fun, adventure, and educational information in an interesting and fun way. This edition teaches about the damage we humans can cause to the oceans and the knock-on effect the damages cause to the outer world around us, including animals and plants too.

[Lata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roz is back, and things are peaceful on the island. Roz's son returns with his flock, and a mate, too, named Glimmer. Then, an injured seal washes ashore, and tells the inhabitants of a terrible poison in the ocean. Roz initially reassures everyone that they're safe, but soon the poison reaches the shores of the peaceful island, and Roz decides she's going to deal with the terrible problem.

She travels far (her adventures in the previous book have given her the ability to immerse herself in water with no worries) and meets whales, and other creatures, including the Ancient Shark, who tells her that a huge mining station is releasing the poison as it mines an underwater mountain.

Roz manages to talk to the humans on board, and come to an agreement, even as the Ancient Shark is rallying creatures to attack and destroy the station.

There are some tense moments, and some good lessons, as readers are taught how ocean currents can move good and bad things all over the planet, and that negotiation is a better way to handle problems.

Roz has some great moments with her beloved son Brightbill, and, Roz is a grandmother! How sweet!

[aria ✧ · Rating 3 out of 5]

“I will do everything in my power to stop the poison tide. With luck, the birds and the fish and the seals will soon return.”

Our story begins in the sky, with a bright sun and puffy clouds and a large flock of geese.

Directly from the book summary: Life for Roz and the animals on their island is wild, natural, harmonious. Her son Brightbill has even found a mate! But then, one day an injured seal washes ashore and warns of dangerous, cloudy waters that are flowing toward the island—and soon the animals are forced inland to fight over dwindling resources.

This book was one big lecture. Stop poisoning the ocean, humans! You’re screwing everyone else!

Our story ends at dawn. The eastern sky was growing brighter, and the last few stars were fading fast.

“Life will never go back to exactly how it was, but in time, we will move on from this tragedy. Old friends will come home. Fields and forests will regrow. The ocean will thrive again. Our island is already beginning to heal, and so are we.”

[Ashutosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the previous two, but just as enjoyable. I feel the first half kinda slogged with the whole "poison tide" thing and this focused prominently on environmental issues which felt a bit "sudden" considering the flow that it maintained with the previous two books, even though it's not beyond the realm of the kind of story this was, it just seemed a bit out of place.

[Sherry · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 Hmmm…did not enjoy this as I had the previous 2 books. It had a preachy tone that lacked the nuance of the earlier books which is a shame because that nuanced approach was something I appreciated about the books and Roz. The pacing dragged and it was repetitive as Roz met up with many creatures in the sea who all had the same message. It was a little boring and definitely lacked the charm of the early books. What I did like was that Roz moved through differing terrain, came across many creatures and there was an interconnectedness to the whole. For a kid who enjoys science and biology this might be fun. And I enjoyed spending more time with Roz. But I could have left Roz’s story at book 2.

[Teddy G · Rating 2 out of 5]

NO!!!! What happened???
We are huge fans of Roz and both of the other books but this felt like the opposite of the other books!

It was boring, depressing and so disappointing. I get the message and need for it. I also see that the author wanted Roz to be the hero we need BUT the beauty of the first two books was that there was a beautiful story and fun with the message. This focused SO hard on the message of death and destruction it killed the book!

My students felt the same way. I felt awful I have recommended this book series to so many kids and families. Everyone was let down.
I’ve heard as we also felt it was sad Roz just got back and now is gone again. Also many hated that there was no action until the last 1/4 of the book.
This is not for a reluctant reader as the first two were.
We love the ocean idea and were so excited to meet all of the new creatures but every single one had the same depressing story.

Note for parents/educators
Also there was a part with a goby fish (Ripple) it states that Roz isn’t male or female. And Ripple is both male and female! Then the Goby goes on to explain she changed to a male.
This interaction is weird because it comes out of nowhere and doesn’t fit the story. It’s also not quite scientifically accurate if there are too many males or too many females in an area…because of instinct and for survival/procreation yes goby fish CAN change to carry on the species. They do not choose and it’s not all or at any time but for a short time.
I was very confused if the author was trying to compare this to humans saying we have the right to choose or proving humans don’t/can’t because any change done cannot be reversed or result in children?
Either message to me is not appropriate for the classroom in this context or an independent third grade reader which is the youngest I would recommend this for.

[Gail Edwards Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having enjoyed the first two Wild Robot adventures, I was excited to read the next instalment for Roz - the robot with a big heart -who lives on an island with her family and community of animals. It did not disappoint! Some very big themes are explored within the book - pollution / environmental damage being the key theme this time - but without becoming overwhelming as the reader believes Roz will succeed in her mission to save the ocean. I love the way Peter Brown drops facts into the story that will add to children’s knowledge without being too distracting and in direct address to the reader refers to the characters as ‘our friends’ because with how they are brought to life, they really are. Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy. Will definitely buy to add to the school library.

[jonny :3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved this series when i was younger. when i heard there would be a movie, i cried. when i got home a few days ago to find this book as a gift from my mom, i cried again. this series meant so much to me as a kid and its just as adorable and fun as i remember, but now i can see that it was also teaching 10 year old me about nature and kindness and how all living things are connected. just perfect ❤️

[Brittany McCann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great story with Roz & Bright Bill.

An interesting way to bring up the issue of deep-sea drilling and the effect it has on wildlife.

I wasn't sure if Roz would make it out of this one.

It was fun to meet some new creatures of the sea.

4 Stars

[Claire King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boys are so bummed to not have any more Roz to read. We all enjoyed this series- even Dad! 😜

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Clark and mom read together. Clark says 10 stars because “I liked every single part” :)

[Jefi Sevilay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tabi ki ilk kitabın bilmecesi, keyfi yoktu. Dolayısıyla kitapta ilerleyince biraz fazla "Roz az gitmiş, uz gitmiş, dere tepe düz gitmiş"e döndü. Yine de kendi yaşımız ve bakış açımızdan düşünmezsek, Peter Brown zor konulara ustalıkla yaklaşmış. Okyanusların kirlenmesi, buzulların erimesi, aile kavramı, ev kavramı, olaylara şiddetsiz ve açık iletişimli yaklaşım ve daha niceleri.

Yine de üçleme olarak düşünürsek tatlı mı tatlı ilüstrasyonlarının da pastada çilek olduğu güzel bir seriydi.

Süper babaanne (Roz), seni çok seviyoruz.

Herkese keyifli okumalar!

[Cora Lourcey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good ending to the series and I seriously recommend as a read-aloud with the family. Peter Brown adds some harder words for children but still somehow makes it so understandable. Loved it so much!