Maya and the Robot
By Carrie R. Wheadon, Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Marvelous Black girl scientist stars in poignant read.
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What's the Story?
In MAYA AND THE ROBOT, Maya was really looking forward to school starting until the first day, when she finds her best friends aren't in her class. Worse than that, she has a mean teacher who calls her "Patricia" when she's always gone by her middle name. Maya is too scared of her teacher to correct her. She's feeling lonelier than ever when Mr. Mac, the convenience store owner downstairs from her apartment, offers her a job cleaning out a supply closet. Behind the piles of old magazines and under layers of dust sits a full-sized robot. Mr. Mac says it was one of his son's old projects and offers it to Maya along with his son's book of notes. Maya is thrilled and immediately puts her scientific mind to work trying to fix it.
Is It Any Good?
Diverse characters, poignant moments, and joy in all things science make this girl-meets-robot story lovely and memorable. Fifth-grader Maya is someone to root for from the start. She's curious about everything and hard working. When her friends move to another class, she's suddenly very lonely. She lives too far away to see them outside of school and now doesn't even share a recess with them. Maya's close relationship with Mr. Mac, the convenience store owner, helps her cope, especially when he knows just what to give her that will thrill her scientific mind.
Maya and the Robot begins with a glimpse of the end of the story, when Ralph the robot starts a food fight in the school cafeteria during the science fair -- so you know hijinks are coming. With that kind of opener, readers may be surprised at the story's sadder side. Maya faces a loss felt by the whole community, even ten years after the event. This loss turns Ralph into more than just a fun toy to show off at school. He's imbued with purpose to help others and help them heal. And what better lesson for budding scientists, especially ones that bring much-needed diversity to the profession, than for them to know how much good they can do in the world if only they set their brilliant minds to it?
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how important science is to Maya in Maya and the Robot. What do you have a passion for? Do other people understand why you like it so much?
Violence happened before Maya was even born. How does it still affect Maya and those around her now?
Like many kids, Maya doesn't have a lot of money to spend on her passion for science. Where does she find science books? How does she take advantage of resources at the library and the science museum? What does she gain by emailing a professor at Stanford?
Book Details
- Author: Eve L. Ewing
- Illustrator: Christine Almeda
- Genre: Coming of Age
- Topics: STEM , Brothers and Sisters , Friendship , Great Girl Role Models , Robots , Science and Nature
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Kokila
- Publication date: July 13, 2021
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 8 - 12
- Number of pages: 224
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Kindle
- Last updated: July 12, 2021
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
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