Kirkus Review
Two robot buddies express gratitude for their friendship in three amusing vignettes. Having established their more-human-than-robot buddy bona fides in Even Robots Aren't Perfect! (2022), Red Robot and Blue Robot are back for three more short stories, presented in comic book--style panels with speech bubbles. The second volume finds the pair in their cozy home suddenly terrified of an (imaginary) robot-eating monster in "Bump in the Night"; dealing with a misunderstanding with Purple Robot in "Sorting Bolts"; and discussing how lonely they would feel without each other in "The Train Trip." Through it all, the two robots frequently express admiration for each other and thankfulness for the friendship they share. As in the previous book, Thomas differentiates the two cleverly. Blue Robot is taller, with a block head, while Red Robot looks more like a fire hydrant. The two wobble and whimper, grin, and celebrate with a great range of expressions and emotions over tiny misunderstandings that get blown up with big feelings. The gratitude lessons are never overdone or preachy, with each story playing out like a short comedic playlet with a happy ending rather than an earnest lecture. If there's something lost from not having one continuous story, it's made up for by the sheer charm of Red Robot and Blue Robot. There's lots of pleasure to be had spending time with them. (This book was reviewed digitally.) The series continues to entertain with sweet, gentle humor. (Picture book. 1-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
The cohabiting and nongendered robots introduced in Even Robots Aren't Perfect! (2022) return for daffy misadventures built on the theme of gratitude. First, mysterious noises in the night prompt Blue Robot (the excitable one) and Red Robot (the calmer one) to hide together under a blanket after timorous investigations. Next, Red Robot asks Blue to stop noisily sorting "bolts" (actually, in the sequential cartoon panels, nuts) or do it somewhere else, but then leaps to Blue's defense when a third robot friend (Purple) calls bolt sorting very silly: "What would happen if one of us LOST A BOLT?" (Excellent question.) Finally, Blue sees an envelope labeled "train ticket" and hides it, imagining how sad and lonely life will be if Red goes on a trip . . . but, as Red reveals when the rumpled envelope is returned, there are actually two tickets inside. In each episode, the two clanky comrades wind up expressing gratitude in having such a thoughtful, supportive friend--an evergreen sentiment since the days of Frog and Toad and always worth a reboot.
