To Data Or Not To Data

Earlier this week one of my virtual colleagues, Cynthia Alaniz, wrote on her blog, Teaching in Cute Shoes, about a main character in a book who decides to give up all forms of technology, living like her grandmother did in 1962.  At the end of her post she spoke about the value of virtual connections for her and asked we readers which technology we could live without.  As for myself, I agree wholeheartedly with the value of the connections technology provides but it is definitely challenging to find a balance.  After all when you've grown up with the first televisions being black and white only, phones having party lines and the first transistor radios being cause for celebration, it's fascinating to see the swiftness in which technological advances are rapidly changing nearly every facet of our lives.

I find myself pausing more and more, thinking about time saved due to technology versus time lost in those very connections, personal and professional, which consume minutes and hours previously  spent on other endeavors.  In the midst of these musing a book arrived by mail, the newest title written and illustrated by Dan Yaccarino, Doug Unplugged (Alfred A. Knopf).  This robot wonders and then walks...well actually, he flies.

This is Doug. He's a robot.

Doug's loving parents (robots themselves) want the very best for their son, plugging him in every morning to fill his robotic self with loads of information.  As they head off to work, he is told learning about the city will be his factual food for the day.  Bits in bytes, trivia treasures, about the people population, trash cans, manholes, fountains, fire engines, skyscrapers, subways, fire hydrants, taxis and pigeons, transfer.

All goes as normal until a flash of feather catches Doug's eye.  It's a pigeon outside the window cooing.  He had not learned about the sound they make in his newly acquired data.

Wondering what else he might not have downloaded, he dares to unplug!  Whooshing out the window his new learning by living begins immediately; pigeons scatter when you fly into a flock. Each perspective based on previous knowledge is altered by Doug's personal experience; a very good teacher itself.

Not only is our eager adventurer storing up sights and sounds but he discovers something unique, something unexpected.  He discovers play in all its many forms when a simple question is asked and answered.  When trouble threatens Doug is the hero of the day learning one last truth which his parents think makes him the smartest robot ever.


There's something special in the presentation of Doug's story by Dan Yaccarino. It's like a young boy is telling us about his best friend who leaps from the known into the unknown; loving the city sights more and more as the hours pass.  His observations are uncluttered with past experiences, fresh in their newness.  The narrative is a cheerful, constant comparison between virtual and reality.  Here is a single passage.

Doug knew that skyscrapers had strong steel frames so they could be many stories high.
But he was amazed by the view from the top of one!  He could see everything!



Opening the matching jacket and cover readers are greeted by a roundish robot boy, shy smile and wide-eyed, holding and walking away from the plug.  Unlike the front the back background is a shade of plum patterned with a gray computer board.  Both sets of endpapers continue with the computer board pattern in shades of blue with Doug animated in seven different discoveries.

Using brush and ink on vellum and Photoshop Yaccarino begins with a pale dusty blue background for the first five double-page spreads until---Doug unplugged!  Then readers see liberal use of white space, green for the park and a hue of sky blue when needed as illustration sizes shift with the storyline   A bright, bold color palette illuminates the actions and emotions of Doug and the other characters.  Lively, simple and loaded with warmth these visuals are the perfect partner for the text.  My favorite illustration is a single page from play in the park; Doug sliding, swinging and sniffing a flower with his friend.


Doug Unplugged written and illustrated by Dan Yaccarino proposes and shows the value in using all your senses to truly discover and experience the smallest details and the largest vistas as much as you can whenever you can.  I, for one, am glad Doug tugged the plug.  I highly recommend this as a read aloud; bedtime or storytime.

I would also suggest pairing this with Matthew Cordell's innovative hello! hello! reviewed here.  Be sure to check out Dan Yaccarino's website with the link embedded in his name above.  There is an additional two page spread well worth seeing.

Performance Criteria Rated High...Affirmative

Back in 2001 I discovered a poster by Rick Ruggles titled Love is where you find it...  From that time forward I have tried to slow down to notice heart shapes appearing everywhere, especially when Xena and I take our walks; discovering those special stones on the beach is like finding a priceless possession.  But sometimes you don't find the heart, the love, unexpectedly, it finds you.

First time author, Ame Dyckman, teams with illustrator, Dan Yaccarino, to bring readers, Boy + Bot (Alfred A. Knopf), an endearing story of a normal day turned extraordinary.  Remarkable use of text and visuals, make this book a stunning example of the beauty to be found in simplicity.  You never know what a day spent gathering will reveal.

A boy was collecting pinecones in his wagon when he met a robot.

Can you imagine the wonder of having a big red robot appear behind you ?  Trusting in spirit, quick to see a potential playmate, the boy asks him to play.  The robot's reply is, of course, in the affirmative.

Finding fun in the great outdoors, their adventures are cut short when a rock and the robot meet.  With no power supply, to the boy, the robot is in need of help; believing him to be ill. Packing him up in his wagon they set off for the boy's home.

Doing what he knows should make the silent Bot better, the two finally settle in for the night.  Peeping in to check on Boy, his parents, not knowing Bot is behind the door, trigger his switch to on.  Now it's Bot's turn to deduce that Boy, sleeping soundly, is malfunctioning.

Carrying Boy back to his home Bot is likewise seeking to fix the problem.  In the nick of time the Inventor steps in, startles Boy into wakefulness and makes an important phone call.  The two fast friends make plans for the next day to play and...they do so with great joy.

Ame Dyckman has discovered a very special place were readers' affections wish to reside.  Her narrative guides us down the beloved path of finding friendship with those unlike ourselves; of caring despite differences.  With clarity, using short sentences, Dyckman depicts in both Boy and Bot the characteristics found in best buddies.

On watercolor paper with gouache Dan Yaccarino fashions illustrations from a primary color palette with added greens and purples; bold and radiant, eliciting a smile from readers.  Endpapers picture both the Boy's and Bot's typical "toys".  The title page begins the story with Boy pulling his red wagon past an evergreen with Bot peering from behind.

Freckles sprinkled across Boy's nose and cheeks, smiles playing about Boy's and Bot's mouths, bright-eyed admiration, the one for the other, and a one-eyed light bulb figure walking about on legs in Bot's home, are little extra details readers will notice and appreciate.  Yaccarino has chosen to vary his image sizes; double page, single page or several on one page all framed by the appearance of a casual brush stroke.  But the way he depicts Dyckman's final sentence,

And the friends did.

is masterful; over the final three pages a series of images clearly showing the cementing of a bond not to be broken.

Boy + Bot written by Ame Dyckman with illustrations by Dan Yaccarino is a clever story where caring + sharing = friendship.  When readers' hearts are warmed and laughter tugs at the corners of their mouths, a book will be read again and again; shared with as many as possible.  This is one of those books, a timeless classic.