“Robo-Sauce” is a book that children have to hold and turn its physical pages in order to be amazed by the Mad-magazine-esque gatefold that culminates in the ultimate surprise ending.
“Robo-Sauce” (Dial Books for Young Readers) is the brainchild of the dynamic duo behind “Dragons Love Tacos” — author Adam Rubin and Brooklyn illustrator Daniel Salmieri — and centers on a child who’s sporting a cardboard robot costume and is failing in his attempts to garner the attention of his father reading a book, his mother at work on her laptop, or his sister playing with her cars and trucks. Luckily, the narrator has the recipe for “Robo-Sauce,” a top-secret, fluorescent orange formula that transforms people, places, pets — and even this book — into robots, which, by the way, is ideal, because everyone loves robots, and ’bots don’t need to eat their veggies, take baths, or go to sleep.
The imaginative, humorous plot twist makes “Robo-Sauce” an utterly original experience, and a great holiday gift idea for a 4–8-year-old child.
“Robo-Sauce” book by Adam Rubin, $18.99, www.pengu
