Brobot

S. Tinker Inc. #1

by James Foley

Sally is the world’s foremost inventor under the age of twelve, and she just knows she can build a better brother than the messy, smelly version she has. Sally’s invention – Brobot – is fantastic, that is until the remote gets broken and Brobot careens out of control. Sally realises that maybe there’s more to a brother than just his inconveniences.

A hilarious graphic novel for young readers.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Childrens, Humor

112 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2016

About the author

James Foley makes children’s books for children who read books. If you’re a child and you’re eating his books, you’re doing it wrong. James writes and draws; he gives talks and runs workshops. He tells dad jokes. Legends say James can grow a beard in an afternoon. He lives in Perth with his wife, 2 kids and labrador. He is a massive Marvel movie nerd and comes from a long line of queuing enthusiasts.

His picture book Stellarphant is available around the world. It was voted Picture Book of the Year in the 2022 Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Shadowers’ Choice Awards; it was named an Honour Book in the 2022 CBCA Picture Book of the Year category; it was voted into Australia’s Top 50 Kids Books; and it was selected for the International Youth Library’s prestigious White Ravens List. It has been shortlisted for a further eight awards.

His latest graphic novel series Secret Agent Mole follows agents Max Mole, Helena Hippo and June Bug, for whom no mission is too dangerous or ridiculous. Book 1: Goldfish-Finger and Book 2: The Boar Identity are out now, and Book 3: Dr Nude will be out in April 2024.

James is the author/illustrator of the S.Tinker Inc graphic novel series for middle primary: Brobot, Dungzilla, Gastronauts and Chickensaurus. The series stars Sally Tinker (the world’s foremost inventor under the age of twelve) and Joe Tinker (full-time baby) on their adventures in invention. New full colour editions of Brobot and Gastronauts will be released in April and June 2024.

James also illustrated the Toffle Towers series written by Tim Harris; the cult-favourite and CBCA-shortlisted My Dead Bunny; and its follow-up, There’s Something Weird About Lena.

James contributed to Total Quack Up and Funny Bones, both anthologies of funny stories with proceeds going to charity.

His earlier books In The Lion, The Last Viking and The Last Viking Returns have all scored several honours, including children’s choice awards, recognition in the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year awards, and selection to the International Youth Library’s White Raven list.

James is an ambassador for Books In Homes and Room To Read. He's a past Regional Advisor and Illustrator Coordinator for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (Australia West chapter).

Reviews

[Reyhan Aygün · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sally dünya genelinde on iki yaşından küçük mucitler arasında kendime benzettiğim tek karakter. Öncelikle saç kesimimiz aynı ve bir mucit olmasamda bir mühendisim. Ayrıca en önemlisi benimde sürekli etrafı dağıtan bir erkek kardeşim var. Yani Sally'i ve çıldırmalarını çok iyi anlıyorum. Etrafınızda kitap okumayan bir çocuk varsa bu kitabı kesinlikle öneririm.

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in Dutch, but will be writing a review in English.

A book about brothers, sisters, and robots!

The book is about Soesja (really who thought this was a good name in Dutch? Sally works way better considering I never heard of Soesja.) and she tells us about her new robot, about how much better he is than her little baby brother who is pretty much a health hazard and a building failure (yes, our girl looks at things in how well they are build).

I can kind of agree with her, though at times I found her a bit mean towards her brother. Then again, he does let go of some deathly poo bombs that probably will destroy the world. :P And he does seem to break things just by looking at them (really, you let him go for a few seconds and bang chaos everywhere).

Her brobot was a pretty great invention, he can do pretty much everything and has a great way of prioritising what is important and what is not (like with the baby he first went for the nuclear shirt, then the bomb in the diaper, and then whatever else was left). But like with any machine he seems so awesome at start but if something happens that isn't on his scanner.... well... read the book to find out.

But thanks to what happens near the end our sister finds out that her brother isn't so bad though. I was really delighted with the ending and how sweet she was. I am guessing they will still have their arguments, but I think they will be closer thanks to all that happened in the book.

I loved the fact this book was a graphic novel, I don't think the book would have had the same impact if it was just text with some illustrations here and there.

The art was really great, though I had a laugh at Soesja (again, that name) and her pony tail. :P

All in all, I want more books with this sister and brother. I want to see more of her inventions.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Efsane · Rating 5 out of 5]

İdeal erkek kardeş Joe mu yoksa Kardorobot mu? Neyse robot yine seni geçemedi Joe 🤖. Çok keyifliydi ya. İkinci kitabı önce okusam da bu hikaye bana çok keyifli geldi. Çizerin kafasına ve robotun içindeki seslere bayıldım.

[Mlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik lees met m'n 8-jarige broertje mee vandaag :)
Dit stripverhaal in boekvorm zit vol humor, is spannend en grappig getekend. Echt een leuk boek van kinderen van 8-10 jaar. Door de plaatjes denk ik ook een aanrader voor kinderen die normaal niet zo van lezen houden.

[Bruce Gargoyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this title from Fremantle Press for review.

Ten Second Synopsis:
Sally Tinker is an inventor extraordinaire, so when her baby brother doesn't measure up to her expectations, she creates her own. But is a robotic sibling really all it's cracked up to be?

This fun graphic novel is chock-full of humour, chaos and unexpected bugs in the program. Sally is a girl who knows what she wants and even has the skills to create it, while her baby brother is....well, a bit of a messy, stinky, noisy baby. Sally, with the best of intentions, takes it upon herself to invent an improved version of a little brother, but doesn't count on her invention learning from the real thing. Of course disaster strikes and Sally comes to learn that perhaps the good things about having a living, breathing sibling outweigh some of the bad - although maybe not the stinky bits. The narrative parts of the book are broken up here and there with some text-heavy diagrams but for the most part, this is exactly the kind of book that will draw in the more reluctant base of young readers due to the saturation of illustrations, the interesting fonts and the easy-to-digest chunks of text. Add to that the humour of stinky nappies, exploding machines and general mayhem and you'd have to agree that this book has everything that young readers love, all wrapped up in a visually appealing package. I'd definitely recommend this one for readers aged from about seven or eight on up, who enjoy funny, fast-paced stories.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book as a Good Reads giveaway from Fremantle Press. After reading Brobot I would recommend school libraries to purchase this brilliant graphic novel. There are lots of puns and visual jokes as you watch S. (Sally) Tinker design and create a robot brother. The illustrations are superb, and there will be many students drawing robots after reading the book. Foley has created delightful characters that hopefully will appear in future books. Sally Tinker has a bright future.

This book would be a useful teaching aid in primary and secondary schools. Great book to inspire children to be creative.

[Desna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for those readers who want a bit of everything with cheeky llustrations and humour, for newly independent readers.

[Ben Goodman]

MY 12 YEAR OLD SON & 8 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER BOTH LOVED THIS BOOK. A GOOD BOOK FOR THOSE YOUNGER READERS AS WELL

[Carolienvanderwaarde · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een robotbroer ontwerpen lijkt een goed idee, vooral als je broertje nog in luiers loopt, plakt, stinkt en met die kleine vingertjes alles kapot maakt. Soesja (???) is uitvinder en zij bedenkt een geweldige Brobot met afstandsbediening. In humoristische tekeningen zien we wat er allemaal mankeert aan haar broertje Jim en wat er zo geweldig is aan haar Brobot. De teksten die ter verduidelijking overal in de tekeningen staan, zijn erg moeilijk, bijvoorbeeld " audio-ontvangers / gyroscopische stabilisatoren" of "solar-aangedreven hybride supercapacitor" . Maar als je die voor het gemak hier en daar gewoon overslaat, dan blijven er grappige tekeningen over met redelijk begrijpbare teksten voor 8 jarigen, hoewel... Jim's extreme rampenveroorzakingspotentieel...? Voor de beelddenkers en de wizkids dan maar.

[Anna Kopp · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son laughed out loud while reading this and HAD to show everyone what was so funny. Can't wait for more of the series!

[Bahar]

Sürekli sattığımız kitabı brnde bir okim dedim tatlış ve komik beğenildiii