MAKE ME A ROBOT

In a feat of design wizardry, a plain, rectangular body is transformed by unfolding hands, wings, rocket engines, and more on successive pages.

A robo-face visible through a large, round hole cut all the way to the back cover guides young technophiles through nine steps from feet to final smile. Rogalski depicts each component in a blocky, retro-futuristic style and delivers rhymed instructions in a distinctly tongue-in-cheek tone: “Make me a robot / with antennas for ears. / Just don’t say I look funny. / That really grinds my gears!” (No one will write home about its meter, though.) For a climactic surprise, the head can be folded down at the end to reveal an alternative face. Also, as the pages are printed on heavy-duty board, the whole figure is thick enough to stand up when closed. The extending parts are made of a lighter stock—but even if they aren’t quite as durable as the body they can be opened in different combinations to customize the robot’s limbs and looks.

A delight for diaper-clad droid heads.