The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess

A king and queen in a faraway land desperately long for a child, but have no success. Therefore, the queen consults a wise witch in the forest, and the king consults the royal inventor for a solution. The witch creates a little girl from a log of wood, and the inventor creates a little wooden robot: the king and queen are delighted.

Yet, one day, when the log princess is mistakenly thrown out of the palace, the wooden robot follows. He plans to rescue his sister who turns into a plain log of wood every night, and every morning must be reanimated with the phrase 'Awake, little log, awake!'. Suffering many difficulties, the log princess and the wooden robot are reunited, but need the help of the witch in the forest to return them to their parents.

This somewhat unusual comic-style picture book is a really lovely story about unconventional siblings that, despite their origins, have a strong and loving bond just like any others. Tom Gauld is a cartoonist for adults, and his clean, open style is perfectly suited for middle primary-aged readers who will appreciate the comic style and the sophistication and detail in the artwork.