Review: Ribbit Rabbit Robot


This is one of those picture books that is few on words but big on interpretation and thus possesses that wonderful read-again-and-again magic. Simple and seemingly unstructured, Ribbit Rabbit Robot is really a lesson in paying attention to the minutiae that make up our lives for when we do, magic is often revealed.

One day while hanging out in a fantastically congested shop of curious antiquities, three friends, Rabbit, Robot and Frog, happen upon an enchanted lamp. It's clever frog who rubs the lamp releasing a wish-granting genie of mythical proportions. The genie comes with a caveat that Rabbit and Robot overlook in their wishing-make zeal. They each conjure up companions suited to their desires but as they bicker for possession of the lamp, Frog, who has taken the time to read further, admonishes their greed and selfishness.

Rabbit and Robot employ stealth and subterfuge in an effort to second the lamp for themselves. Hot-headed robot appears to have outwitted his rivals having whisked the lamp into outer space on his wished-up rocket ship. But will he truly be able to retain this treasure if he is unable to stymie his inability to share?

Children are carried along on a dizzying ride of ridiculousness and wild joy that invites them to question who really deserves the lamp the most. Is friendship worth risking for greed? And should we be careful for what we wish for?

Mackinaly's debut picture book is a riot of wonderful. Her quirky narrative allows Sofya Karmazina's expressive illustrations to sparkle as brilliantly as any genie's lamp and promises a lot more fun to boot!

Highly recommended for its interactive qualities and good old fashioned fun.
Title: Ribbit Rabbit Robot
Author: Victoria Mackinlay
Illustrator: Sofya Karmazina
Publisher: Omnibus Books, $19.99
Publication Date: April 2020
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781743834060
For ages: 4+
Type: Picture Book

Buy the Book: Boomerang Books, Booktopia, QBD Books


Comments

Norah Colvin said…
What a fun read.
10 June 2020 at 20:00
DimbutNice said…
It actually was, Norah but also much deeper in meaning than a first sweep through suggests. Recommend it for the fun and artwork, too. :-)
10 June 2020 at 21:28
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: The Goldfish Boy

Image
Twelve-year-old Matthew Corbin is your regular pre-teen boy living in an unspectacular cul-de-sac deep in British suburbia. The major difference between him and the other inhabitants of Chestnut Close however is the state of his red-raw hands and tortured mind and the fact that he barely steps outside his terraced-home second story bedroom. Matthew is afflicted with severe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, OCD and can barely function as a result. From his fishbowl vantage point, Matthew keeps track of his neighbours, dutifully recording their every movement, their comings and goings, and their habitual rituals in his notebooks. In this way we are introduced to the residents and their characteristic irks and quirks from the get go in a way that is both intriguing and comical. Matthew’s observations allude to his condition; he is both analytical and detailed in his approach. The orderliness of his notations suggest a mind used to repetition and accuracy, an intense desire to ‘get things r
Read more

Review: My Shadow Is Pink

Image
What are little boys made of? Is it really frogs and snails ; everything that is not sugar and spice and all things nice that are otherwise attributed to the makeup of girls? Should blue be the only shade that maketh the man? Debut author illustrator, Scott Stuart blows these outdated tropes well and truly out of the water with this deliriously amusing and tender picture book, My Shadow is Pink . Our intrepid main character’s little face is a picture of consternation after he concedes that his shadow is not the strong blue that trails the other males in his family. His is a delicate shade of rose and mirrors that which he loves most: sparkles, dancing, twirling and dressing up. Despite his father’s reassurances that his shadow will adopt a more ‘manly’ appearance one of these days , and the little boy’s own yearning to fit in with the other acceptable shadow groups, he is unable to dismiss his conflicting feelings. Then one day an invitation to let his shadow dress up in its favour
Read more

Christmas Countdown Day 3 - The Grandest Bookshop in the World

Image
The Grandest Bookshop in the World It’s something I’ve always wanted to do – live in a bookshop and be surrounded by the magic of words and other spellbinding things, like cake. Siblings Pearl and Vally Cole are living that dream. But it’s not just any old bookshop; it’s the Cole’s Book Arcade in Melbourne. Their fantastical story germinates from their father’s own stirring rags to riches tale and meanders closely to the actual chronological time line of the eccentric Edward Cole, founder of Coles Book Arcade in the late 1800s. The key thing to remember be you staff, family member or patron of the Arcade is that buying a book is secondary to enjoying your visitation. Customers are encouraged to relax, read, dine on tantalising fare, wander through the exotic gardens harbouring monkeys, or perhaps select a curious toy for a well-behaved youngster. These fascinations really did exist and in the Cole children’s thrilling tale form the critical backdrops to their chilling (fictional) a
Read more