I AM NOT A TIN CAN!

An off-kilter message of friendship.

When a robot named Number 808 meets a light-skinned child, the bot’s query of “Can we be friends?” is met with a dismissive response: “I don’t think so. You are a tin can.” Number 808 continues their quest to make a friend by demonstrating skills such as playing music and completing complex mathematical formulas. Although impressed each time, the child still reminds Number 808 that they are merely a tin can and points out that the robot is brainless and heartless. With the gift of a cake and a hug, Number 808 sways the child enough to admit that they were incorrect, and the two begin a friendship and formally introduce themselves: the child as Robert and the robot as Number 808—BOB for short. Emotionally intelligent readers will be quick to notice that Robert never apologizes for their initial assessment of BOB, and savvy readers may wonder why BOB is working so hard to obtain this one-sided friendship. The expressive illustrations—a combination of watercolor, ink, and collage—do a lot of heavy lifting in an attempt to save the book, but the shallow story is in need of an upgrade. Friendships require mutual respect from both directions; BOB and readers deserve better. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Does not compute.