By David Lucas (author) , David Lucas (illustrator)
Paperback In Stock £7.99 £7.19
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A broken-hearted robot is left on the scrapheap. Day turns into night, Autumn into Winter, as he lies there, and this is beautifully and simply portrayed in four consecutive pictures. It seems he will never move again until a Bluebird arrives who needs help to get to a warmer place. The theme of self-sacrifice and caring for other echoes that of Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince.
There was once a robot with a broken heart, good for nothing but expiring slowly on a scrap heap. Then one winter's day a migrating bluebird lands on his shoulder, too exhausted to go further. The robot offers her shelter in the place where his heart used to be, and her warmth and singing and companionship stir up the last glimmer of energy the robot has; he carries her across snowy wastes to the warm south, whereupon his strength dies out finally.
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And there he still stands today like an old hollow tree, home every year to singing birds.
Beautifully illustrated story about a robot whose broken heart is healed by the companionship of a little bluebird - Nursery World
Offbeat talent in a world reminiscent of Tim Burton's. - Observer
A poignant book...It's simple pictures steer the story away from sentimentality, and its readers will take a while to grow out of it. - Telegraph
This is (excuse the pun) a real heart warmer of a book. - Junior Education Plus
This is one of the finest children's picture books I have had the pleasure of reading in a very long time. - Junior Education Plus
David Lucas - As a child
"I was born in Middlesbrough, where my Mum was a teacher and my Dad worked in the steel works. I am the third of six brothers, and as children we were all dressed the same - same haircut, same jeans, same jumpers. When I was five years old we came to London (my Dad had decided to go to Art College) and at first we lived in a tent before moving to a council flat in Hackney. My parents both loved nature so I often spent holidays exploring forests and wandering on the moors in Yorkshire or by the seashore. I loved ruins and castles too - magical, haunted places. I always enjoyed drawing and in my teens I became fascinated by mythology and fairytales and folklore and began writing stories and inventing imaginary worlds and characters."
"I live in east London, close to where I grew up, beside Victoria Park. My home is full of strange old books - books of magic spells and secret alphabets and half forgotten legends. I collect old toys too, and colourful folk art and carvings of scary tribal gods with staring eyes. I've always liked fancy dress parties - it's fun pretending to be someone you're not - and I enjoy being on my own in nature - I love places where I can escape the modern world and imagine I'm living centuries ago. I just feel very lucky to be able to make my living from writing stories and making pictures and mostly I live a very quiet life."
"I believe the world is alive with magic - and it's that feeling that really inspires my work. My drawing is picture-writing - I never draw from life - I make patterns, as if I were knitting with ink. Writing, for me, is pattern-making too - putting words together as if they were simple shapes, making story-patterns that are a mixture of autobiography and myth and fairytale. I spend the mornings writing, looking out onto the park, listening to the birds singing and the canal boats chugging past. I paint and draw in my studio near London Fields. As well as making picture books I'm also working on an illustrated fantasy novel."
The Boy Who Lost His Spark
The Treasure Under the Jam Factory
The Sneetches and Other Stories
There was once a robot with a broken heart, good for nothing but expiring slowly on a scrap heap. Then one winter's day a migrating bluebird lands on his shoulder, too exhausted to go further.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed The Robot and the Bluebird and determined it is suitable for children aged 5-6 years old
The Robot and the Bluebird features in the following genres: Fiction PSHE Titles, Recommendations, Featured Books for 5+ readers
Paperback. £7.19, down from the £7.99 cover price. In Stock.
The Robot and the Bluebird was written by David Lucas and published by Andersen Press Ltd
The Robot and the Bluebird has 28 pages
£7.19, reduced from £7.99. In Stock.
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