BABY BRAINS AND ROBOMOM

As clever and funny as the first two, this super toddler’s third exploit again carries the message that there’s no substitute for parental TLC. Having already invented a motorized stroller and a self-rocking cradle, the onesie-clad genius knocks together a robotic mom to give his exhausted human one a break—but then finds himself being washed in the sink with the dirty dishes and hung out on the line to dry with the laundry. Out rushes Baby Brains’ real mom to the rescue, just as the metal one, who had been trailing an increasingly thick cloud of smoke for several pages, explodes. Wielding pen and brush with a free hand, James creates informal cartoon views of the tiny but confident-looking rugrat rejecting baby toys in favor of a laptop, chemistry lab and gas welder as his bemused but ever-fond parents look on. In the final scene, however, he nestles comfortably in his mother’s lap for a shared story as Robomom Mark Two, now only a foot high, zooms past with the vacuum cleaner—leaving Davide Calì’s similarly themed, witty but less broadly appealing Mama Robot (see above) in the dust. (Picture book. 6-8)