CAM CREATES A HERO

A boy tries to build a robot and learns to believe in his creativity in Sitek’s picture book.

Cam is a sensitive, artistic boy with two foster siblings, Inaya and Loris. After he sees a news program with a report about child abuse, Cam is inspired to act. After talking about it with his family, he decides to build a robot to protect children. Cam enlists Inaya and Loris to help him, and the trio work incredibly hard but produce a mechanical man named Giorgio that doesn’t work. Angry, Cam tosses a piece of the robot away, which hits the boy in the head and knocks him out. While unconscious, he has a dream that makes him feel that creating art is a better way to help others; he focuses on creating a graphic novel starring Giorgio, which he shares with other kids. Soon, the children’s wishes magically bring the robot to life in the real world. The book’s representation of people in the foster-care system is refreshing, and the work, though short, takes time to develop the siblings’ personalities. However, the various plot points seem a bit scattered, and young readers may be confused about which elements are most important. Frank’s full-color illustrations are beautifully rendered, featuring diverse main and background characters.

A kids’ book with an unfocused message but good characterization.