The Brainiac’s Book of Robots and AI

Did you know that the word ‘robot’ (‘Robota’ in Czech) was first used by the Czech playwright Karel Capek in a play where artificial workers do hard and boring jobs for humans? So, what is a robot exactly? What do they do? Can they think and act for themselves, and what will robots be able to do in the future?

This fascinating non-fiction book begins by defining what robots are, then explains how some robots are made, how they’re programmed and the types of jobs robots currently do before exploring what AI is and asking if robots could really take over the world! Additionally, ROB3RTA, a cartoon robot, follows the reader through the book as a narrator, introducing us to her different robot friends. There’s also a useful glossary at the back of the book for the slightly trickier terms, a timeline of the development of robot technology and a quiz that readers can follow.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable and fascinating book which many young readers will no doubt pick up, since AI in particular is such a hot topic right now. It’s attractively designed and presented, with a cool feel that will appeal to upper primary readers, and despite the potential difficulty of the subject, the text level is accessible and not too tricky.