As a storytelling device, the “mix-up” has staying power. You know the plot twist I’m talking about—when two characters mutually misinterpret something and everything goes horribly awry because of it. The results range from tragedy (Romeo and Juliet) to buffoonery, as in, say, just about every episode of Three’s Company.
In the case of Ame Dyckman’s wonderful picture book Boy+ Bot, crossed signals create a tale of good intentions misapplied. A youngster meets a friendly machine on a forest stroll, leading to a bout of roughhousing that shuts down the robot’s power. Mistakenly viewing this as an injury, the child hauls his comatose companion home for some not-very-helpful treatments, such as force-fed applesauce. The lad goes to sleep, the robot awakens, and the same kind of misunderstanding ensues—this time with oil, fresh batteries, and technical manuals as hoped-for cures.
In a good mix-up story, hasty and thoughtless actions are products of depth of feeling. They show us that, more than the “thought,” it is the caring that counts. Dyckman and illustrator Dan Yaccarino take readers straight to the emotional core of this lesson, with spare, hearty text and images as endearing as a finely crafted puppet show. The story’s conclusion ties into the importance of mending errors and taking responsibility, without losing a trace of its buoyant touch.
On a personal note, my wife took our kids to one of Dyckman’s recent library visits. I wasn’t able to attend due to my workload, and, unfortunately, I had no knowledge of the author or her book until my family described the event to me later. Now I wish I had fallen asleep like the boy in the story so that someone—preferably a well-trained robot—could have whisked me away to the reading. That would have done wonders for my exhausted soul.
