“The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess” by Tom Gauld

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Rating: 4/5 Stars

Tom Gauld’s cartoons in The Guardian and New Scientists are well known to me as hilarious commentary on the book and scientific fields (in the respective news media). So reading a Gauld tale longer than a standard comic panel aimed at younger children is a different experience. Can his art and storytelling abilities still be interesting. For me, the answer is yes.

The book is a fairy tale about a King and Queen who, lacking children, decide to go and make some. The Wooden Robot was created by the royal inventor, the Log Princess by a clever old witch. And they were happy together. The Log Princess turns back into a log when she goes to sleep and turns back when awaken with some magic words, which the Wooden Robot does each morning.

But one morning, the Wooden Robot was distracted, and before he could say the magic words, the Log Princess (in the form of a log) was accidentally discarded. Thus starts the adventures of the Wooden Robot to rescue the Log Princess and then return to the Kingdom. Which, of course, they do, with the help of some little friends.

The story is simple, the adventure is mostly linear (with some quick diversions caused by other adventures) but Gauld’s intricate yet simple art holds it all together, together with more words than he usually uses in his weekly comics. Little Ones (and adults) who re-read the story will probably keep finding new things in the art.

All in all, a good first outing for Gauld in the field of art and fairy tale storytelling. Hopefully, there can be more in the future.

Book read from 2021/10/19 to 2021/10/19