Common Sense Media Review
By Carrie Kingsley
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Girls find friendship and love of science in engaging story.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
As WEIRD LITTLE ROBOTS begins, shy 11-year-old Penny Rose is new to the neighborhood and spends all her time alone, tinkering with robots in the shed in her backyard. When the robots seem to come alive, her world changes. She becomes best friends with Lark, her quirky birdwatching neighbor and classmate, and is asked to join a secret science club at school. The problem is, the group only wants Penny Rose, not Lark, who has long been shunned by the kids at school. Penny Rose's robots have been a big part of her happiness, but she puts them -- and her friendship with Lark -- in danger to join the club.
Is It Any Good?
This engaging robot tale mixes science and friendship in a well-told story that unfolds slowly, with lots of detail and attention to the inner thoughts and feelings of Penny Rose and Lark. Weird Little Robots celebrates quirks and friendship and how valuable it is to be authentic. The girls are free to be themselves when they're together, shedding insecurities and not worrying about being cool or measuring up to someone else's standards. More advanced readers will likely fly through the pages, while anyone still getting used to longer chapter books will take their time to enjoy the story.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how, at first, Penny Rose seems to look down on Lark for the way other kids treated Lark's odd behavior in Weird Little Robots but soon realizes they're similar in their approach to the world. Have you ever looked down on someone but knew, deep down, that you were just as "weird" as them?
Would you have brought the robots to the secret science club, or left them in the shed?
What other books about friendship have you read?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Corinna Luyken
- Genre : Friendship
- Topics : STEM , Fantasy ( Magic ) , Friendship
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Candlewick Press
- Publication date : October 1, 2019
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 240
- Available on : Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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