R ROBOT SAVES LUNCH

The rainbow-colored subjects of picture-book newcomer Kuszyk’s paintings illustrate the robot world for young readers. R Robot is your average robot—he brings an extra head to work, “just in case,” and can shower, eat and walk the dog all at the same time. At the factory, R Robot investigates the clog in Big Cooker robot that has led to the incredibly long lunch line. It turns out that the clog is caused by the robot he’s been looking for all day, solving two problems in one fell swoop. Incongruously, considering the simplistic story line, Kuszyk’s acrylic-and–spray-paint robots, which enjoy a separate incarnation in galleries and murals nationally, are not toned down for the young audience. While the colors and distinctive features of each robot are initially captivating, some children may have trouble distinguishing and separating the various parts of the robots and the many metallic chips that make up their world. Alas, the interesting illustrations do not mesh with the ho-hum plot. (Picture book. 5-7)