A Day with Wilbur Robinson

Wackiest sleepover ever in house of inventors.

Author: William Joyce Illustrator: William Joyce Pages: 40 Publisher: Laura Geringer Books Published Date: 03/25/2007 Genre: Fiction - Picture Book HC Price: $16.99 Publisher's Recommended Reading Level: 4 Read Aloud: 4 Read Alone: 6

Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that this story about a boy's day in the house of wacky inventors is a bit strange and disjointed, but it's also unusual and captivating in its originality. Nothing objectionable is presented.

Families can talk about the various characters in Wilbur's family and all the contraptions they've invented. The visiting boy thinks his friend's house is the greatest place to visit -- why? Kids might enjoy talking about how they would feel if they visited a friend overnight and found he lived in such an unusual world. What would it be like to play in the snow inside your friend's house, or fly because an uncle turned on his antigravity machine, or sleep in a tree with the rest of the family after having a pillow fight?

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Patricia Tauzer

Readers of any age will want to spend much more than a single day visiting the pages of A DAY WITH WILBUR ROBINSON. Each page of illustrations is a story in itself. In fact, the best way to approach this book would be to spend a few seconds reading the text and then use the bulk of your time to explore the adjacent illustration. One builds on the other, and the story grows and grows with each reading.

The illustrations are at once retro and futuristic as they show Aunt Billie playing with her train set, Cousin Pete walking the cats (actually full-grown tigers), and Uncle Gaston sitting in the family cannon. Uncle Nimbus plays with his new snowball-shooting device, Uncle Orpley floats by in a large bubble, and Uncle Judlow relaxes with his brain augmentor. The photon elevator is broken, the time machine has been left on (so dinosaurs are visiting), and Grandfather hangs out in his lab with his frog band and his friends Mr. Ellingon and Mr. Armstrong.

Dinnertime is more than lively with its food-shooting cannon and dinner-serving robots. And bedtime is far from the norm, when, after an exhausting pillow fight, everyone falls asleep in a tree listening to Uncle Art tell scary stories while frogs play on their violins. All in all, A Day with Wilbur Robinson is quite an adventure, and anything but dull.

William Joyce has produced several other books, as well as animated TV shows and movies (Meet the Robinsons is based on one of his books).

From The Book

We found Uncle Judlow, relaxing with his brain augmentor.

"It helps him think deep thoughts," Wilbur whispered.

"Mississippi spelled with o's instead of i's would be Mossossoppo!" blurted Uncle Judlow.

"See? What did I tell you?" Wilbur exclaimed.

Plot Summary:

When a young boy spends the night with his best friend, Wilbur, he finds himself invited into a very strange household of exotic creatures; inventive, eccentric relatives; and gadgets of all kinds. As the boys search the grounds for Grandfather's missing teeth, they have many interesting encounters. When the teeth are found, the family celebrates with a pillow fight and they all spend the night in a tree.

In the morning, Wilbur's entire family sends his friend on his way with a family rendition of "Yes, We Have No Bananas," after which Wilbur apologizes for having shared such a dull time with his friend.