Stop! Bot! by James Yang

Full disclosure: I went to high school with the author of Stop! Bot! (we were in journalism and on the school newspaper staff together) so I buy his books at least in part to support him.

Having said that, Stop! Bot! by James Yang is simple and silly with an unexpected ending. A little boy's bot (a drone) has gone out of control and is flying up the outside of a high-rise building. As the bot heads upward, people try to catch it to help the boy in increasingly ridiculous ways. For example, a giraffe tries to reach it with its long neck and someone reaches out with one of those oversized sponge hands you can buy at sporting events. Everyone fails until the surprise twist, which has something to do with bananas.

And, it really is bananas. But, clever, which reminds me that back in high school James had a comic strip in our school newspaper. I remember saying, "James is so clever!" about a million times. I always loved that comic strip.

Recommended - I like this book, particularly the ending, but I must add that I read some reviews and noticed the chief complaint is the minimal number of words. James is a graphic artist and his books tend to be low on text. If that bothers you, Stop! Bot! is not the right book for you. I buy them more for the joy of owning some of James' illustrations than for the wording, myself. But, I do like the story. I wish my grandchildren were nearby so I could read it to them and see their reaction to it.


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