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11 A Robot in the Wilderness

I can read...
I can read...
This chapter explores Peter Brown’s journey in creating The Wild Robot, his
first middle-grade novel. It provides insights into the inspiration behind the
story, the creative process, and how Brown blends nature and technology in a
heartwarming tale about a robot named Roz.

Peter Brown is an illustrator and author of many bestselling children’s books,

including Children Make Terrible Pets, The Curious Garden, Mr Tiger Goes Wild, and
You Will Be My Friend!. While working on his famous picture books Mr Tiger Goes Wild

and You Will Be My Friend!, which were internationally acclaimed, he planned to write
a middle-grade novel. The Wild Robot is the fruit of his labour. It is simply fantastic. It

retains the poetry of a picture book with the depth of a longer read.

The Wild Robot is the story of a robot named Roz. When Roz opens her eyes for the
first time, she discovers that she is alone on a remote, wild island. Why is she there?

Where did she come from? And, most importantly, how will she survive in such harsh
surroundings? Roz’s only hope is to learn from the island’s hostile animal inhabitants

how to survive. When she tries to care for an orphaned gosling, the other animals of
the island finally decide to help her, and the island starts to feel like a home to her. Until

one day, Robot’s mysterious past comes back to haunt her.

Heartwarming and full of action, Peter Brown’s robot raises thought-provoking
questions about the environment, the role technology plays in our world, what happens

when nature and technology collide, and what it means to be alive. The book raises
many questions for readers to answer.

Let us find out from the author himself the answers and many more things that
made it possible for this amazing book to see the daylight.

Here is an excerpt from an interview with the author.

Where did the idea for The Wild Robot come from?

Years ago, while working on a picture book called The Curious Garden, I spent a lot

of time drawing scenes of plants growing in industrial settings. I tried to imagine all the

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