The Robot King

by Brian Selznick

"Ezra, a mute since his mother's death, compulsively collects small things that older sister Lucy uses to craft mechanical toys. When she assembles a man-sized figure and inserts their mother's music box as a heart, it comes to life—and what a life! Readers will respond to this...haunting, enigmatic tale of two lonely children who create something wonderful."—K.

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade, Juvenile, Science Fiction, Young Adult

80 pages, Hardcover

First published August 24, 1995

About the author

Hello there. My name is Brian Selznick and I’m the author and illustrator of The Invention of Hugo Cabret. I was born in 1966 in New Jersey. I have a sister who is a teacher, a brother who is a brain surgeon, and five nephews and one niece. I studied at The Rhode Island School of Design and after I graduated from college I worked at Eeyore’s Books for Children in New York City. I learned all about children’s books from my boss Steve Geck who is now an editor of children’s books at Greenwillow. While I was at Eeyore’s I also painted the windows for holidays and book events.

My first book, The Houdini Box, which I both wrote and illustrated, was published in 1991 while I was still working at the bookstore. Since then, I have illustrated many books for children, including Frindle by Andrew Clements, The Doll People by Ann Martin and Laura Godwin, Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride by Pam Muñoz Ryan and The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins by Barbara Kerley, which received a 2001 Caldecott Honor.

I have also written a few other books myself, including The Boy of a Thousand Faces, but The Invention of Hugo Cabret is by far the longest and most involved book I’ve ever worked on.

I live in Brooklyn, New York, and San Diego, California.

Reviews

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is really a mixed bag.

Lucy and her younger brother, Ezra, live in Paris. Their mother is dead. They often go to visit her in the graveyard. They collect things - little bits of glass, junk, and buttons. Lucy is a scientist and uses these things to create mechanical toys.

Ezra is mute ever since his mother died. This reminded me of the movie Jumanji.

Lucy, for her part, seems to have become something of an agoraphobic as a result of her mother's death. She sees the attic as her own little world with everything she needs.

One day, Lucy builds a robot with some of her dead mother's belongings. The robot comes to life. The children name him The Robot King.

When The Robot King's knees shatter into a thousand pieces of china, the pieces fly out the window. They come back to haunt The Robot King at night. Any broken object can be fixed and also can fly if a piece of The Robot King's broken knees enters the object.

The Robot King experiments with his magical powers by taking off pieces of himself (fingertips, toes) and placing them in broken-down objects, which makes them function again and gives them the power of flight.

Then, one morning, the children wake up and The Robot King has disappeared? Where has he gone? The children go off to look for him...
....

This was an enchanting story. It is beautifully written. Selznick has a way with words and the prose of the book is very pretty.

The illustrations are beautiful and charming.

I like the strong sister-brother relationship in the book (I have a real weakness for this in stories.)

So why only 3 stars?

Well, nothing is ever really explained or resolved. Perhaps that is unimportant to some people, but not to me. Is the mom's spirit powering The Robot King? Why can it bring objects 'to life?' What is it's purpose? Where is it going? What is it doing? Why is it obsessed with 'outside?' Simply to help Lucy get over her agoraphobia? Nothing is explained and no explanation is even hinted at. This leaves me frustrated, even though the book is gorgeous. I understand that the kids are 'coming to terms' with their mom's death through the building of and caring for The Robot King but I am unsure about what is going on and what it all means.

[Cyndi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly beautiful story. A great read to share with your elementary schoolers. I loved this!

[Ivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Selznick is a genius - there is no question. This was one of his first. It's a fable. It's full to bursting with fantasy and heart. The Illustrations are breathtaking (as we've come to expect).

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enchanting, mysterious story. But it left me with a lot of questions!

[Nancy Kotkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A subtle children's chapter book, in the fantasy genre, about a sister and brother dealing with their grief over the death of their mother and subsequent withdrawal of their father. They build a robot, who then comes to life. Basically this book is steampunk for children, with maternal love substituted for romance. Poignant and full of magic. Strong sibling relationship. Very accomplished illustrations, even though this is Selznick's early work. There are some unanswered questions, which may leave some readers dissatisfied, but I found the story mostly complete and quite enjoyable. The writing is lovely and flows well. Unlike Selznick's later, longer books for middle grade readers, this is a chapter book and should be read for the simple flight of fantasy that it is. Occasional full-page illustrations are interspersed throughout the text, like a typical chapter book, so this is not the half-graphic, half-text story-telling that Selznick became famous for more recently.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a weird, magical sort of book that I picked up at the library for my son. He loved it so much he bugged me to read it too. So I picked it up to read today while my pie was in the oven.

The book wasn't at all what I expected. The beginning was as I thought, but it took a strange and wonderful turn and continued on, surprising me with every page and illustration. Really a fantastic book to read to children and worth looking for.

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brian Selznick has such a mesmerizing style of writing and his drawings add a whole other dimension to experiencing his books.

The ending doesn't seem quite complete somehow. The kids, feeling gypped of a solid and clear ending complained, "That was the ending?!?!" But this book is still worth reading.

The Robot King was a quick read but took us on a magical journey that I'm sure we'll return to time and time again.

[Kyrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have loved to read this book as a child - sort of Lewis Carroll mixed in with fairy tales and a bit of mechanical wizardry - all in a dreamlike setting. Well, not a sweet dream - a real kid's dream with scary bits and weird bits and all.

[Qt · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. I didn't really understand it (probably my fault, not the book's), but it was still a haunting, often beautiful story--and I love the pictures!

[Callie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the creation.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brian Selznick is wonderful !!! Looking forward to more from him !!!

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a terrific children's book about dealing with grief. Two young siblings, creative Lucy and silent Ezra, build a robot with a music box heart. The music box belonged to their deceased mother, and its placement brings the robot to life. Nothing is clear cut, whether this is the children's wild imagination or actually taking place, but the underlying message is clear: that these two kids are helping each other through their grief. It is magical and touching, and Selznick raises his evocative prose to another level with his brilliant pencil drawings. I really enjoyed this touching story.

[Christy Broderick⁷ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed illustrations & went well with the story. A little different than what I’m used to reading by Selznick, but was still a good read.

[Just a Girl Fighting Censorship · Rating 2 out of 5]

It pains me to give this book such a low review but, quite honestly, I was bored. The plot, characters, and setting, were all secondary to the atmosphere and emotion of the book, therefore I think the story deserved to be told through pictures rather than words. As I was reading I thought to myself, how much better would this be if it were a wordless book? The answer is it could have been a 4 or 5 star book. I think that the surrealist magic of the story would have been more pronounced and make a bigger impact if Selznick's beautiful and detailed pictures told the story instead. The feeling of this story reminds me of some of my favorite wordless books- Tuesday, Journey, and Sector 7. I cannot imagine any of these magical stories being told in any other way. Brian Sleznick's artwork is strong and enchanting but his writing is boring and clumsy, he should play to his strengths but instead he wasted a good story.

Skip this one and read The Invention of Hugo Cabret instead.

[Jackie B. - Death by Tsundoku · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Brian Selznick and the worlds he creates. The Robot King is no exception.

This is the story of Lucy and Ezra who are coping with the death of their mother. Lucy builds an automaton out of spare parts her brother has been collecting, and magic begins. After building their own Robot King, it is discovered that he can make other inanimate objects come to life and the kids experience a few magical evenings with him before realizing they can continue their lives without their mother and still find wonder in the world.

I love the world presented here. Selznick's illustrations capture my imagination and help craft more clearly what he is describing. There is magic in the air and literally fantastic things happen.

That said, I feel like the whole book was rushed. This could easily have been a much longer, more in depth book. I walked away with so many questions: Why was Ezra mute? What was the Robot King experiencing? Why did his knee bits keep returning to him? Why did he leave the attic? Why did he want to stay? Where did he go? Was the woman in the woods their mother? Why did they meet her? What is the relevance of the waltz? --- the list goes on and on.

All in all, a great book for middle grade children with a strong imagination.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would definitely say this is a book for older elementary school kids. It's a story of children dealing with the loss of their mother, and the distance that has grown between them and their father. The boy collects all kinds of doo dads and the sister puts them together to create little machines. She creates a robot and puts their mother's music box in it's chest which brings him to life. The robot king runs on magic and not so much the machinery, and the kids fall in love with him and he them. One night he flies a way and the kids run after him finding objects he's enchanted all throughout their town. Finally his magic takes them soaring through space, but they never see him again. It's a very pretty book, with beautiful metaphors, but I had a hard time understanding what the ending meant, so I think most child readers would have simular problems.

[Robert DaGasta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Brian Selznick's books ever since I first discovered The Invention of Hugo Cabret (way before it was beautifully made into the movie, Hugo, by Martin Scorsese). Interestingly, the title character in this book resembles the "mechanical man" automaton in Hugo Cabret so I'm sure there was some inspiration from one book to the next. Beautiful, haunting illustrations for what is technically a children's book with a simple, but poignant story. Check out Boy of a Thousand Faces (homage to Lon Chaney) and Wonderstruck (his latest which I hope to make into a movie as well).

[Adam Sequoyah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just didn't find this book any good at all. It's unclear what's actually happening, and I felt no emotional investment in any of the characters. It's a shame because the pictures are pretty, and I had a great time reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

MPAA ratings: G

[Kathleen Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've wanted this rare book for a long time and finally have my copy. It was somber, yet hopeful and magical. Reading it filled me with a melancholy sense of wonder. Definitely worth the read if you enjoy Selznick's books and can locate a copy.

[Brandon Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many of the themes later explored in his award-winning "Invention of Hugo Cabret" began here. And as usual, his illustrations are infinitely detailed and fantastic.

[MaryJane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This modern/medieval steampunk "fairytale" is a gem!

[Bridget's Quiet Corner · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75/5

The Robot King for my thoughts

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have devoured all of Selznick's recent books, but had yet to read one of his first. I think this is his second book.
You already find the theme of magical realism/fantasy/scifi. And with gorgeous illustrations.
I am not sure I understood completely the theme of the book, maybe about transformation of grief?
For instance how the death of his mother impacted young Ezra, and how he gets out of it.
Ezra and his sister Lucy help each other and follow a world of fantasy, closely connected to the memory of their mother.
Is the Robot King a symbol of some type of benevolent angel?

Anyway, it was sweet and nice, and I enjoyed following the two children on their journey (unless it was a daydream, a mere make-believe, like when young kids play?)
But you can see at that point (1995) Selznick had not yet found his full voice, and his remarkable format of combining closely text and illustration.
Here the illustrations just illustrate, they don't help the narration to keep going, like they do in all of his most recent books, including the very last, Big Tree, which I have just started

[ashes ➷ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really lovely! A kind of illustrated short story, with Selznick's classic beautiful style in every gorgeous picture. This is one I found satisfying just to look at, even without the charming narrative-- Selznick's classic lost, orphaned children! And an obvious precursor to Hugo Cabret's automaton. I just liked this all around; everything Selznick does feels like a real kids' classic.

[Melissa Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grief comes to all of us. A child’s imagination may be the greatest gift for handling life’s tough times. I adore Brian Selznick’s imagination and creativity. Not sure what his absolute goal was for this book, but for me it was a story of children healing and moving beyond grief.

[Wendi Lau · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weird. Didn't seem to go anywhere. Maybe I'm just reading too much nonfiction.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was odd.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like The Invention of Hugo Cabret jr edition. The illustrations are dazzling and language is so lyrical.

[Aimee Leonhard · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a short story or dream than a novel. A little disappointing because there weren't as many pictures as I expected and the plot was pretty thin. His longer books are so much better.

[Aries Aster · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfectly fine tale of grief and letting go. Could've been longer.