SHARKBOT SHALOM

Sharkbot could be any of us.

Anyone who’s ever felt frazzled may identify with the robot shark in this picture book, who has to prepare dinner for seven guests in time for the Jewish Sabbath. The metaphor isn’t even subtle. Sharkbot has a warning light that tells him he’s low on energy. A counter alerts him as his power level plunges from 10 to one, making this a sort of counting book in reverse. He shows his alarm the way, apparently, a robot shark does, with expressions like “Goodness gears” and “Slime of snail and tail of trout!” Readers will find this either endearing or baffling. The language in the book can be quaint and sometimes stilted: “Long strands of kelp he’s braiding through / give challah loaves a greenish hue.” Davey’s drawings are just as eccentric. They’re charmingly askew. Sharkbot’s eyebrows never quite match, and lines that should be parallel often aren’t. But his anxiety feels familiar and accessible. Sharkbot eventually finds a traditional Jewish solution to his problems. Spending the Sabbath with his friends renews him—but an electronic charger also helps. In an afterword, Waldman even says: “Shabbat is a time to ‘recharge our batteries.’ ” But she suggests a more contemporary method as well, with a list of detailed mindfulness techniques. This is both a universal story and an acquired taste.

A guidebook for those who believe “think like a Jewish robotic shark” is good advice.