Wants vs. Needs vs. Robots

by Michael Rex, Michael Rex (Illustrator)

Overview

In his witty companion to the popular Facts vs. Opinions vs. Robots, New York Times bestselling author-illustrator Michael Rex shows us why what we want isn’t always the same as what we need.

Do you know the difference between a want and a need? It can be a hard thing to understand, especially when you want something so much that you feel like you have to have it. But some things aren’t essential—like jellybean tacos and groovy boots. Other things are essential—like fuel and feet to put the boots on. The robots in this book are here to show you the difference as they make trades to get some things they really want (hooray!) but give away some things they need (oops!).

This timely companion to the popular Facts vs. Opinions vs. Robots makes tricky, but vital, concepts accessible. Kids will have fun following the action and discovering this is the kind of book they really, really want to read again and again.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593530092
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	03/14/2023
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	375,988
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD520L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Michael Rex (mikerexbooks.blogspot.com) has written and/or illustrated over forty children's books, including Facts vs. Opinions vs. Robots, Eat Pete, With Any Luck, I'll Drive a Truck (by David Friend), and the New York Times #1 bestseller Goodnight Goon, as well as the Fangbone series (which has also been turned into an animated TV series). He has a master's degree in visual arts education (K-12) and worked as a New York City art teacher for four years. He lives in Leonia, New Jersey, with his wife and their two sons.

Editorial Reviews

Rex uses boldly colored robots with varying facial expressions (from happy to sad to flummoxed) to explain to children the difference between want and need. . . . Contrasting robots on each page use humor and easy-to-understand language to explain trading objects that are needed to survive versus those that are wanted to look “awesome.” . . . Rex’s book is a unique and comic take on a relatable lesson for primary students and would make excellent supplemental material for elementary instructors looking to teach or reinforce the difference of necessity and convenience, or, in the vernacular here, wants and needs. The most valuable lesson in this entertaining picture book is about the importance of making good choices and helping others, a moral delivered painlessly and with loads of good humor.” —School Library Journal

“To demonstrate the difference between true, necessary-for-survival ‘needs’ and optional ‘wants’, Rex sends a fresh cast of animated, loudly hued robots cavorting across the spreads of this follow-up to Facts vs. Opinions vs. Robots (2020). While it's partly for fun, it also functions to warn against the hazards of trading off one tool (cool boots, a remote-control platypus) for another (legs, batteries), and to introduce the idea of negotiating fair bargains or exchanges. . . . Food for thought—and not just for the kids.” —Booklist

From the Publisher

02/01/2023

K-Gr 3—Rex uses boldly colored robots with varying facial expressions (from happy to sad to flummoxed) to explain to children the difference between want and need. Does a robot actually need "fancy sunglasses" or "golden ukuleles?" What about batteries, arms, legs, and oil? Contrasting robots on each page use humor and easy-to-understand language to explain trading objects that are needed to survive versus those that are wanted to look "awesome." As the story progresses, the robots also show what happens when you "don't balance your wants and needs" correctly—chaos and missing body parts! Rex's book is a unique and comic take on a relatable lesson for primary students and would make excellent supplemental material for elementary instructors looking to teach or reinforce the difference of necessity and convenience, or, in the vernacular here, wants and needs. VERDICT The most valuable lesson in this entertaining picture book is about the importance of making good choices and helping others, a moral delivered painlessly and with loads of good humor.—Kerra Mazzariello

School Library Journal

2022-12-24
A tangible way to help younger kids look at an economic principle.

An unseen narrator defines needsas “something you cannot survive without.” Robots need “batteries for power. Arms to do work. Legs to move. Oil so they run smoothly.” Smiling, appealing, anthropomorphized automatons begin to understand the difference between wants and needs as they think about their desires: “fancy sunglasses, jelly-bean tacos, unicorn hats, and golden ukuleles.” Then the concept of trading comes into play. How can one robot acquire a coveted object owned by another? The red robot gives away their oil for a shirt, barters their arms and legs for boots and a remote-controlled platypus, and exchanges their battery for a cake. Eventually, the red robot ends up slumped over the cake, smoke emanating from their body (“What a mess! See what happens when you don’t balance your wants and needs?”). Rex did an admirable job explaining important concepts in a fun way with Facts vs. Opinions vs. Robots (2020), but he stumbles here by referring to arms and legs as needs. Since the robots are human stand-ins, the book inadvertently implies that those with limb differences are living lesser lives. The author makes his point, but using needs other than limbs—a dry environment, programming—might have been just as effective and more empathetic. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An unintended ableist viewpoint mars a playful examination of the difference between needs and desires. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews