Round Robin

by Jack Kent

A robin who has eaten until he looks more like a ball than a bird finds when fall comes that he can only walk south while the other robins fly.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Fiction, Humor, Storytime, Birds

30 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

John Wellington "Jack" Kent (1920 – 1985) was an American cartoonist and prolific author-illustrator of children's books. He is perhaps best known as the creator of the comic strip King Aroo. In addition to his own books, he illustrated more than twenty books by other authors.

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first the little robin was like any other baby bird. Most of him was head and the rest of him was hungry.

Like a lot of us, this robin loves to eat . . . but when Round Robin grows too roly-poly, he finds he can't fly south for the winter.



Kent's story and illustrations are just adorable.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The kids loved this book! Even though they were both able to anticipate events in Round Robin's journey, they were still laughing their heads off. Really cute illustrations, really funny storytelling. We've read a number of Jack Kent's books, and we just enjoy his understated humor. So far, there hasn't been a dud in the bunch!

[Luci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unfortunately in my own childhood during the '60s my book choices were limited to an overseas military library which carried very few children's picture books; I ended up with selections like the Big Golden Books' Greek Myths and Canterbury Tales, which was fine. I don't recall them carrying any children's picture books at all!

Luckily, with my kids I was able to explore the world of children's picture books and this was one of theirs ~and my~ favorites. (And believe me, I stocked up on children's picture books... was catching up on what I had missed!)

Round Robin is similar to an Aesop's fable. It's a cautionary tale about a baby bird in a society of migrant robins. This little robin though likes to eat! He's not tuned into the migrant factor and lives his life through food until he realizes his mates are gone and suffers accordingly. Literally starving, he is forced to lose the extra weight and is able to rejoin his clan at their new location but again regains the weight due to his gustatory habits, rinse and repeat. ~Seriously, sometimes we all go overboard in one thing or another, especially food: comforting, nurturing, delicious, enjoyment, etc., and unless one has an eating disorder (think anorexia) we savor food and sometimes lose perspective (think Thanksgiving or your favorite buffet!).

My kids enjoyed this book, drawings are cute, and mom explaining the idea of going overboard on anything, food or otherwise carries consequences. I very highly recommend this book to parents of young children between 3 and 5. Five Stars!

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

hes round

[Kdeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite childhood books that is now one of my own children's favorites!

[Rose Timlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Could have been rounder....

[Miriam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too funny! Great story by a great author!

[Delana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favorite story when i was a little girl!

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hippety, hoppety, boppety, BUMP

[Pam]

love reading this book to children each year

[Capn · Rating 3 out of 5]

We cannot help our metabolisms. :) Some of us will naturally gain weight more readily, some of us have much greater appetites, and we're also all differently shaped.

You could read this as a dated, fat-shaming story. But you could also read this as an "aww, what a cute, round robin!" story, where Round Robin is rather resigned to his fat body. There's a happy medium in everything, after all. :)

Also, biologically-speaking, this is a GREAT story to demonstrate WHY the 'fat genes' stick around - because if the other robins couldn't fly south at the appointed time, they'd all have snuffed it, and Round Robin, with his enhanced fat-storing abilities, would have outlasted them all, survived to reproduce, and bada-bing, bada-boom, the 'fat genes' live on in subsequent generations.

Silver linings. ;) Humans have short memories... we as a species had it much, much harder for most of history... fat was helpful, then!

Fat animals are cute. Take a look at Fat Bear Week and any fat squirrel news story, and tell me I'm wrong. XD

Free to borrow from InternetArchive. But it's not one of Kent's best - try the others (Silly goose is fantastic). ;)

[Kevin Ferguson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm astonished at the positive reviews for this book and registered w good reads just to give it the rating it deserves.

I was a fat kid until high school. My mom got me this book in early elementary school, if memory serves. I remember enjoying the drawings, the cute little round robin... and then I read it.

It made me feel terrible about myself and my body. Round Robin told me I was fat and unhealthy and a bad person who didn't deserve friends. It did nothing to improve my diet or exercise, it just made me feel guilty every time I sat down to eat food, especially in front of my peers.

I'm 38 now. I lost weight, gained it back, started exercising regularly and am at a healthy weight now. My mom recently passed and I was going through her things. In one box, I found Round Robin. I'd forgotten all about it. Opened it again because I noticed the cute drawings, thinking I might pass it along to my daughter. As I read, all the feelings of shame came back. My wife and I tossed the book in the recycling bin.

There is a productive, helpful way to talk about kids and diet and exercise. Maybe there is a book that does this successfully and creates healthy, non-shame based feelings around it. Round robin isn't that book. The drawings are cute, the message is toxic.

[Matthew Conley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute little book by Jack Kent. It has the simple lesson of teaching young kids not to eat too much and to do exercise. The main character “Round” Robin though fails to learn this. He winds up struggling to make it to the other robins through the winter. Due to his failure of not learning to over eat, he finally catches up to the other robins only to wind up bouncing back north again. Poor fellow!

[Anastasia Tuckness · Rating 5 out of 5]

Round Robin is having trouble migrating with all the other robins--because he's so round (because he just LOVED eating worms!). Follow his adventures through the whole year.

Something about this story really captured me and Alex and we just think it's so much fun.

[Victoria Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute book, will get students hooked whether it's from the baby weight or learning that birds travel south for the winter time.

[Elmer]

The moral is: don't eat too much that you get so fat that you have problems because of it. Use self-control.

[Rolf · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cute art, but a really fatphobic story that has not aged well.

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never ran across this book before! I loved it!
One of those books that had cute illustrations and a fun story line.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know that I exactly like this book but it is certainly successful at evoking a mood so I had to give it three stars. It's a somewhat depressing story of a robin who eats so much that he can't fly and when it comes time to migrate he is forced to hop. Eventually he becomes skinny enough to fly but then repeats the cycle when it gets to his destination. I don't know what possessed the author to write this story because it doesn't really seem to have a moral. But it did capture a slice of life, a picture of what it's like to be trapped in an unhealthy cycle.

[Alice · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aviary Obesity ...yep this book is zero fun! The robin eats too much so it can't fly South for the winter but during the winter he loses weight because there is no food and he flies south to meet his friends, the he eats some more so he can't fly back north. AHHHHH! So, do I take this book on a silly story, or is it commentary on childhood obesity and how to be more active?? I don't know..... The illustrations are dull and boring so...read it or don't read it--but I am not recommending it! !

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another childhood favourite, I would read and reread this story. I thought the pictures were funny and felt so sorry for Round Robin! During the spring he eats and eats and ends up so fat he can't fly. Then, it takes him all winter to lose the weight and fly south. He gains weight again because there is so much food available and the book ends with him having to head back home.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A robin eats so much that he's too fat to fly south for winter. This is a great fable about the perils of overeating and the benefits of exercise. Combine this with Michael Martchenko's comic Birdfeeder Banquet for a lesson on birds or on health.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Round Robin is too round to fly south, so he has to walk. There are many obstacles and dangers he must overcome. However, will he arrive there in time to enjoy the weather before he has to go back?

Fantastic for storytime for preschoolers and/or toddlers. Funny story, simple pictures.

[Diana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sorry, but no. If the bird had learned its lesson and become healthy, I'd be all over it, but this just left me feeling like it was making fun of people with weight issues or unhealthy lifestyles. If there was a point to it, I missed it.

[Teree · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my kids' favourite read-aloud stories. If you do voices and expressions, they will laugh and laugh!

[Sharonta Johnson]

This is a funny book have on your bookshelf for students who love humor.

[Mckinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, silly.

[Alexa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a favorite read aloud to my daughters.

[lola Franco · Rating 5 out of 5]

a really cute book. it's fun to read.

[Anna H]

I LOVE this!!!!! I can't believe I didn't have this on my shelf sooner!!!!!