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Wants vs. Needs vs. Robots

Author Michael Rex
Illustrated by Michael Rex
Ebook
Penguin Young Readers | Nancy Paulsen Books
On sale Mar 14, 2023 | 32 Pages | 9780593530108
Grades K-3
Reading Level: Lexile AD520L | Fountas & Pinnell L
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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.
MICHAEL REX is the creator of over thirty books for children, including the number one bestseller Goodnight Goon and the Fangbone! series. He also illustrated With Any Luck, I'll Drive a Truck (by David Friend). He was inspired to create Icky Ricky by his two boys, Declan and Gavin, who are fine young citizens, but very disgusting. Gavin eats ketchup on cake, and Declan uses a marker to color his belly button. Along with the boys, Mr. Rex lives with his wife and their dog, Roxy, in Leonia, New Jersey. Both his wife and the dog are not disgusting at all. Visit him at www.michaelrex.blogspot.com. You won’t get dirty. View titles by Michael Rex
“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

About

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.

Author

MICHAEL REX is the creator of over thirty books for children, including the number one bestseller Goodnight Goon and the Fangbone! series. He also illustrated With Any Luck, I'll Drive a Truck (by David Friend). He was inspired to create Icky Ricky by his two boys, Declan and Gavin, who are fine young citizens, but very disgusting. Gavin eats ketchup on cake, and Declan uses a marker to color his belly button. Along with the boys, Mr. Rex lives with his wife and their dog, Roxy, in Leonia, New Jersey. Both his wife and the dog are not disgusting at all. Visit him at www.michaelrex.blogspot.com. You won’t get dirty. View titles by Michael Rex

Praise

“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

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