RO-BO

RO-BO

One morning Milo gets an unexpected gift―RO-BO, a robot ready for any adventure. Milo only wants to spend time with his new robot, and together they play video games, listen to stories and learn new skills, like how to make breakfast. Then Milo’s mother insists he go outside to play with other kids. RO-BO can help with that too! Soon Milo and some new friends are building a spaceship together, and RO-BO steps in to take them on a great adventure to another world. But disaster strikes when RO-BO uses too much energy and its batteries run down. It seems like hope is lost until the friends start playing catch with RO-BO and its battery charges through kinetic energy. By working together, the new friends find their way home and plan for their next amazing adventure. “Ruiz Johnson has crafted a relatable ode to the importance of maintaining human connections in a world full of technological distractions. Detailed panels, rendered in acrylic, pastel, and pencil and edited digitally, combined with Schimel’s spot-on translation from Spanish to create a unique world that will inspire readers to go outside and touch grass. An appealing look at the power of play.” ― Kirkus Reviews “[A] comical and imaginative cautionary tale. Johnson fills each spread with colors that shimmer and shine. The clever ending includes a RO-BO instructional manual.” ― The Horn Book Time to play! Mariana Ruiz Johnson  was born in Buenos Aires. She is an illustrator and author of picture books, and she has written books for children on all continents. In 2013 she received the International Compostela Prize for Illustrated Album for her book  Mamá , translated into more than ten languages. In 2015 she was the winner of the international Silent Book Contest with the book  While You Are Sleeping . She was selected for the illustrators exhibition at the Bologna Book Fair in 2023 and 2024. She is a professor at the Buenos Aires University. She lives in the outskirts of Buenos Aires with her husband, two kids and a cat. Lawrence Schimel writes in both Spanish and English and has published over 130 books as author or anthologist in a wide range of genres, including fiction, poetry, graphic novels and children’s literature. His children’s books include Early One Morning , Bedtime, Not Playtime! and Lucky Me , which was chosen for IBBY’S Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities and also won a Crystal Kite Award from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Lawrence is also a prolific literary translator of over 200 books, including Newborns: How Baby Animals Come into the World , RO-BO and Cristina Plays , which received a starred review from Publishers Weekly . His translations have won a Mildred L. Batchelder Honor and an Américas Award Honor (twice), among other distinctions. He lives in Madrid.