Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 09/15/2022 The cohabiting and nongendered robots introduced in Even Robots Aren’t Perfect! (2022) return for daffy misadventures built on the theme of gratitude. First, mysterious noises in the night prompt Blue Robot (the excitable one) and Red Robot (the calmer one) to hide together under a blanket after timorous investigations. Next, Red Robot asks Blue to stop noisily sorting “bolts” (actually, in the sequential cartoon panels, nuts) or do it somewhere else, but then leaps to Blue’s defense when a third robot friend (Purple) calls bolt sorting very silly: “What would happen if one of us LOST A BOLT?” (Excellent question.) Finally, Blue sees an envelope labeled “train ticket” and hides it, imagining how sad and lonely life will be if Red goes on a trip . . . but, as Red reveals when the rumpled envelope is returned, there are actually two tickets inside. In each episode, the two clanky comrades wind up expressing gratitude in having such a thoughtful, supportive friend—an evergreen sentiment since the days of Frog and Toad and always worth a reboot. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.