Animals

The Wild Robot Protects (The Wild Robot #3) / Peter Brown

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment 
The Wild Robot Protects (The Wild Robot #3)
By: Peter Brown
Genre: Middle Grade, Science Fiction
Number of Pages: 304
Published: May 6, 2025 (1st Published September 26, 2023)
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Dates Read: June 17, 2025 - June 23, 2025
Format: Paperback

Roz has fought hard to get back to her island with her friends and her son Brightbill, all seems to be going well until one day an injured seal washes ashore and warns of a dangerous, dust poison tide that’s in the water and heading the island’s way. Once the poison tide is at the island’s edge, the animals are forced inland and resources begin running scarce.

Roz helps the island as much as she can but understands the toll everyone is under. When Roz discovers she’s waterproof, she sets out across the ocean to find out what’s causing the poison tide.

During her underwater journey, Roz meets amazing creatures and sees fantastical geological formations. Friends she makes along the way direct her to the north, to find the giant Ancient Shark. When she finally meets the Ancient Shark, they explain where the poison tide is coming from and that they want to prepare an attack with an army of sea creatures. Roz however, hopes for a peaceful interaction. Can the wild robot save the ocean and her island?

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the first or second of the series, mainly because it focused on taking care of the environment, especially with the choices that we make and the consequences that could happen. It kind of made humans to be the bad guys – even if we did clean up after basically getting caught.

Readers who fell in love with Roz the first two books will also enjoy this book, especially because Roz is learning and experiencing something new, but just note it focuses heavily on the message of environment protection, especially within the oceans.

Wild Chorus: Finding Harmony with Whales, Wolves, and Other Animals / Brenda Peterson

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment 
Wild Chorus: Finding Harmony with Whales, Wolves, and Other Animals
By: Brenda Peterson
Genre: Nonfiction, Animals
Number of Pages: 240
Published: April 1, 2024
Publisher: Mountaineers Books
Dates Read: February 1, 2025 - February 16, 2025
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

In Wild Chorus, author Brenda Peterson talks about her lifelong relationship with animals and how humans can learn from beluga whales, wolves, raccoons, bears, elk, herons, and many more.

This book is filled with personal essays, which I enjoyed because I could kind of go back and forth on reading it and reading a fiction book. Some nonfiction books take me a long time to get into, and others I just can read information after information without needing a break.

I definitely took a lot of photos of passages in the book to go back and read later, or to share with my friends.

Brenda Peterson’s writing is very chill and friendly, it just felt like I was reading a letter a buddy wrote me about their latest outdoorsy adventure.

*Thank you Mountaineers Books and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

The Wild Robot Escapes / Peter Brown

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment 
The Wild Robot Escapes
By: Peter Brown
Genre: Middle Grade, Science Fiction
Number of Pages: 288
Published: April 7, 2020 (1st Published March 13, 2018)
Publisher:  Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Dates Read: October 19, 2024 - October 21, 2024
Format: Paperback

Roz gets taken to the robot repair factory for repairs and then shipped out to help at a Hilltop Farm for the Shreef family. She makes friends with the cows on the farm, as well as the two children, who are always asking for more stories about the robot on the island. Roz misses her friends and adopted goose son, Brightbill, back on the island and is always planning the perfect time for her escape. But she can’t do it alone.

I feel like I loved this second book in the series just a little more than I did the first. I think because I was so invested in Roz and Brightbill reuniting. I sat up so late one night reading this and gasping and chuckling so hard that I would worry about waking my partner up. When I finally persuaded myself to stop for the night, the chapter I started with first thing the next morning ended in a cliffhanger and I would have stayed up even later to read more if I had continued.

Throughout the novel, I loved that everyone had heard stories, or rumors, about a robot mother and her duck son and how excited they were to finally meet Roz. Because of this, Roz had so many allies everywhere she went and it made her escape more realistic in a way (even with talking animals).

The illustrations were a wonderful addition to this, just like in the first. I especially liked to read about Peter Brown’s writing and illustrating process that he talks about in the end. It  kind of made the illustrations even more fun.

Overall, this book has great lessons and opportunities to open doors for discussion about kindness, helping one another, love, the meaning of home, and what it means to be human. The writing in this is still simplified, just like the first one (childlike, but with older themes), but I believe both children and adults will love it – just like I did.

The Wild Robot / Peter Brown

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment 
The Wild Robot
By: Peter Brown
Genre: Middle Grade, Science Fiction
Number of Pages: 320
Published: April 7, 2020 (1st Published April 5, 2016)
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Dates Read: October 15, 2024 - October 17, 2024
Format: Paperback

When ROZZUM unit 7134 (but you may call her Roz) first opens her eyes she discovers she’s on a remote island and the only robot – she knows she must survive. At first, Roz is disliked by the wildlife because they all think she is a monster and will eat them. But she learns the animal language and doesn’t eat in general, so the animals begin to relax around her. After an accident kills all but one small gosling egg, Roz makes it her mission to raise and protect the duck.

As Roz slowly befriends the animals of the island, the island starts to feel like home. Until one day, when Roz’s mysterious past comes back to get her.

So, has anyone else in the year 2024 picked up this book because of the movie? Usually I read the book before the movie, but I did this one backwards. That being said, the book and the movie are pretty different from one another – same plot, tad bit different storyline.

This is both a simple and a bit of a complex read. The language is definitely aimed at children, but there were also a lot of descriptions of animal violence and death. The writing is written in a way that presents the bit of the morbid side as being the facts of life (if that makes sense). Children understand the world a lot more than adults sometimes give them credit for and this book doesn’t treat children like they’re too young to understand mother nature. That being said, the language is almost simplified in a way that could present as being childish, but the storyline itself is probably better for an older reader – hence it being (younger) middle grade.

The chapters are short and the simple illustrations really add to the read – rather it’s with cuteness overload, or a funny moment also in drawing.

Overall, this is a fun, beautiful book about learning to care for one another, despite differences, and a big shout out to mothers and caregivers everywhere.

An Immense World / Ed Young

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment 
An Immense World
By: Ed Yong
Genre: Nonfiction, Science, Nature
Number of Pages: 464
Published: January 1, 2023 (1st Published June 21, 2022)
Publisher: Random House
Dates Read: May 25, 2024 - June 9, 2024
Format: Hardcover

In An Immense World, author and science journalist Ed Yong challenges us to think beyond our own senses to perceive the world around us through the eyes (and senses) of animals and insects alike.

Shoutout to my first ever nonfiction science book that wasn’t assigned to me for a class (yes, I’ve been out of school for nine years…).

This definitely made me think about animals and not only their place in the world, but mine as well. I still think about the amount of smells my dogs are experiencing every time I let them outside to use the restroom – it gives me a little patience, even if I’m in a time crunch and they’re smelling everything.

There was a lot of information that was given throughout this book. I had to take this in chunks and read another book alongside it – which I don’t usually do and will read one book from front to cover before picking up the next one. I knew I would get “annoyed” with just reading information upon information. I’m glad I broke it up because it did help me enjoy it more. That, and marking fun facts that I enjoyed (another thing I don’t do).

I really enjoyed the footnotes that the author included within the pages, to me, that made the information a little more personal and felt like a friend was giving me fun facts from their field. I may not understand everything, but those footnotes helped a lot.

Everyone should try and read this. It’ll open your eyes to seeing the world in a whole new way! If nonfiction, or science isn’t your thing, trust me, I know, break this up into chunks. Ed Yong breaks up the chapters into sections that are only a few pages at most, and just read those here and there.

Just some of the fun facts I learned or, that I have continuously thought about, since finishing this:

  • Ants are essentially a group of highly specialist wasps that evolved.
    • This explains why I don’t like looking at ants up close – I hate wasps with a passion.
  • How “quiet” is the world now that there aren’t massively big animals roaming around?

The Eyes and the Impossible / Dave Eggers

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment 
The Eyes & the Impossible
By: Dave Eggers
Genre: Middle Grade
Number of Pages: 256
Published: May 9, 2023
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Dates Read: May 4, 2023 - May 7, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

Johannes, a free dog, lives in an urban park by the sea where it’s his job to be the Eyes for the park’s three elders, the Bison. His friends – a seagull, a raccoon, a squirrel, and a pelican – are Assistant Eyes, observing the comings and goings of the park who report their findings to Johannes, who then gives their, along with his own observations, to the Bison.

But changes are happening at the park – a new building means more humans, and more humans means more Trouble Travelers. And then there were the new animals called goats that literally appeared as a boatload. Upon their arrival, new, shocking revelations change Johannes’ whole world.

After I read Pax by Sara Pennypacker, I’ve kind of been on the hunt for another middle grade, animal book. I know there’s all kinds of these out there, but this one… it’s the way that Johannes’ voice is written I believe, that just gives me a warm, good feeling in my chest.

It was fun to hear Johannes and his friends explain things from the humans – sometimes they’re way off and it would give me a good giggle (like their viewpoint on time is way off, everything is 1,000 years and it’s just adorable).

This is going to be a book I can see myself recommending to anyone who just wants a chill, feel good book with animals. I’ve already talked about it pretty much nonstop since I got to work this morning. I know animal books are hard, and can be weird, but this one is cute and adorable.

*Thank you Knopf Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.