The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess, timeless excellence

Have you ever experienced something so awesome that you wish that you hadn’t seen it so that you could enjoy it for the first time again? Creepy Carrots was the last illustrated book to do this to us. On television, it was Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, however, those shows are most certainly for adults or some teens. As much as I enjoyed that, it’s the all-age entries that are more impressive. The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess is an illustrated book that roars up alongside its contemporaries and happily rises to the cream of the crop. Even a casual glance at the cover, seeing the wood graphics on the spine and the dozens of hidden details that are lovingly drawn in give readers the impression that they’re in for something special.

The cover of The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess is so detailed that it resembles a seek-and-find illustration. You’ll see a little fairy, beetles, keys in trees, and so much more that are drawn in the style that is uniquely Tom Gauld. This is a book that fans of Hilda will immediately flock to. However, once elementary-aged readers discover the book, it’s one that will quickly become their favorite for a myriad of reasons.

Yes, it’s a fairy tale and certain ages in elementary school are repelled by fairy tales. However, The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess fly in the face of those expectations because of its quality, uniqueness, and creativity. Gauld can have a very dry sense of humor. As an adult, I’ve been a fan of his work since I discovered it on Free Comic Book Day in 2017 with Moon Cop. This book brings that sense of humor, to an extent, but sweetens it just a bit to make it supremely kid-friendly. The result is a smart book that’s neither schmaltzy, nor predictable, and wholly entertaining.

It’s an illustrated book whose story seems succinct and certainly could’ve been told in a longer medium. Brevity is the soul of wit, and this book lives up to that. Gauld could’ve written this as an mglit book and it still would’ve rocketed away the reader’s imagination. Have you seen Ladyhawke? The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess has elements of that on the surface, but also a sweet, Rutger Hauer-free center.

A king and queen both want a child. He makes a deal with the royal inventor and she makes a deal with the witch in the woods. The inventor makes a wooden robot and the witch makes a girl out of a wooden log. The girl is smart but turns into a wooden log when she falls asleep. She is awoken every morning when her robot brother says “awake, little log, awake.” The siblings get along like peas and carrots, until one time he forgets to utter that saying and their adventure begins.

It’s this adventure that really sucks in readers of any age as they fall headlong into the book. They’ll care about the wooden log princess, worry about what happens when the robot boy fall,s and enjoy every moment of the sibling’s adventure. The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess is all of that and it’s a fairy tale.

Log Princess

The Thief of Always runs parallel, albeit a darker route, as this book. Clive Barker’s 1992 all-ages fable is age-appropriate creepy that fifth-grade students will salivate over. His adult work is very different and works on a level that high school readers and up might have to peek through pages at. Gauld’s work isn’t as adult as that, but it’s created at a more cerebral level that all elementary ages might not appreciate.

With The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess, Gauld has created an illustrated book that will do the same thing. In 2052 elementary school readers will be reading the book, marveling at its illustrations and digging into some of his other, more Gary Larson-esque works.

The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess is by Tom Gauld and available on Neal Porter Books, an imprint of Holiday House and Penguin Random House.

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