Cats vs. Robots: This Is War
Written by Margaret Stohl & Lewis Peterson
Illustrated by Kay Peterson
Completely outrageous yet entirely believable, this series launch is well worth a look by both girls and boys, both computer geeks and animal lovers. Everyone will fall in love with all the characters, be they robot, software, four-legger, or human.
A planet of robots and a planet of cats have been at war for as long as anyone remembers. The problem is, no one remembers why. Meanwhile, both the cats and the robots discount the contributions of humans (aka two-leggers) to the universe. When two human scientists develop a Singularity Chip, which supposedly prolongs a cat’s life indefinitely, the hunt is on to win the war by way of the chip. Twin siblings Max, a game-playing boy, and Min, a robot-building girl, are caught in the middle. Throw into the mix an evil House, confused but soft-hearted drone, a dying alien cat, a non-binary uncle, and two kittens and you have the whole story.
Math, coding, and everything kitten figure greatly in this book, making it wonderful for encouraging such pursuits. And kids will love it until the very end. Of course, the robot general will not let the war go, setting up for the sequel.
Title: Cats vs. Robots: This Is War- Author: Margaret Stohl & Lewis Peterson
- Illustrator: Kay Peterson
- Published: Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins Children’s, 2018
- Reviewer: Sue Poduska
- Format: Hardcover, 320 pages
- Grade Level: 3 to 7
- Genre: Chapter Book, Science Fiction, Humor
- ISBN: 978-0-06-266570-6