Facts vs. Opinions vs. Robots (urspr publ 2020; utgåvan 2020)

A bunch of robots illustrate the differences between facts and opinions. For instance, it's a fact that one robot is blue, but it's an opinion that the blue robot is the most fun robot of the bunch. It also cautions against claiming facts without having all the information. For example, the reader cannot tell if a green robot is big, medium, or small in size without seeing it in comparison to the other robots.

This book is great for discussing information literacy with young children and helping them make the distinction between truths and feelings. But it's not a dull and dry tome -- instead it's fun and engaging. The illustrations are colorful and cheery looking, and the text asks the children questions. (My one small quibble is that a question will be presented on one page of a spread and then the answer is on the other page of the spread in such bold text that it's more difficult to hold this up as a readaloud unless you plan of making modifications to cover up the answer until you're ready to read it.)

All in all, this is definitely a good read for elementary school-age children (and maybe even some middle-grade tweens) when doing a unit of information literacy or really any time to make sure they are constantly learning and remembering the lessons shown here. ( )

Do you know the difference between a fact and an opinion? It can be a hard thing to understand. Some things are facts--like the number of robots in this book. Other things are opinions--like which robot would make the best friend, or which robot dances best. And sometimes to tell the difference between a fact and an opinion, you need to wait to get more information--that's because facts can be proven true or false, and opinions are things you feel and believe--but that you can't prove.

A stupidly amusing lesson in facts vs. opinions with silly (and occasionally battling) robots. This seems especially essential in the current political climate. ( )

I find "current" picture books about politics, voting, etc. to be, well, annoying. I don't think they make any difference to kids. Maybe in a school library with some context, but not in a public library. Anyways, I was all prepared to dislike this one, but it turned out to be really good, both funny and informative, and what's more, it's actually written for kids, not adults!

The book begins, "Do you know the difference between a FACT and an OPINION?" Current evidence suggests that many people, adults and children, find this a confusing concept. Not to worry, robots are here to help! We'll start with some questions and statements about the robots. Is one blue? Do any of them have three eyes? These things can be proven true or false and are facts. Now for another question - which robot is the most fun? This is an opinion. It depends on who's asking, who's answering, and what your criteria are (the book does not use the word "criteria" but I totally would add it.)

The book continues asking questions, helping readers figure out the difference between a fact and an opinion, as well as showing how opinions can be made facts with more data, or can change when new and different data is added. After an argument over ice cream flavors, the robots also model respect for each other's opinions and show how they can either compromise or make their own choices.

Verdict: Rex's colorful robots, bold text, and helpful questions make this not only a great classroom resource, but a fun storytime game to play. Recommended.

ISBN: 9781984816269; Published February 2020 by Nancy Paulsen; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library