The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown (Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 2023) is the third volume in the story about The Wild Robot. My daughter and I listened to the others in anticipation of seeing the movie (as soon as it’s not $$$ to rent online!). I was excited when I first learned that there was a final volume. As can be assumed from the title and the cover, this is a book about ecological awareness, as Roz the robot tackles the gigantic issue of water pollution in the vast occean.
I liked this book very much. Unlike the other two books, it didn’t feel as new and original, however. Possibly, that is because the scene under the water that Roz encounters (Roz is now waterproof in her new robot body) includes friendly and not friendly animals that feel similar to the other animals Roz has met. The setting almost feels like the island, but underwater. Just about everyone comes to see her as a friend, even when they are prickly at first.
Further, the story details a “poison” that is spreading through the water, which almost feels a bit too relevant and “preachy.” One dated item that Roz finds seems to give a timeline about 300 years in the future. Roads have been covered by water and cities flooded. Maybe it doesn’t feel that way to a child, but it (subtly?) turned this book into an “issue” book, in a sense. I don’t have a problem with that per se, but it felt forced. Don’t get me wrong, I am a solid believer in climate change. But placing such real “issues” into the book takes away the magical timelessness that was in the previous book, a timelessness that made it feel, almost, like this is any world. The Wild Robot Protects brings us right back to earth. That’s okay, but to me, some of the magic was lost in the process.
The last issue is that the book makes it so easy to solve the problem, with amazing robots that can clean up after the residue from mining has poisoned the whole ocean. Millions (hundreds? thousands?) of cleaner robots go to all the shores, the residue is captured and land and water cleaned, and all go back to a happy life. Obviously, a book for children needs a happy ending. (or does it?) But it was, again, painful as I, an adult, consider the reality.
After we listened, my daughter said this was her favorite one in the series. Of course, she said that after we listened to the first and again after we listened to the second. I’ll have to see what she says when she revisits them.
