Russell W Smith Jr

Sag and the MacRobot Family Russell W Smith Jr

This comic book tells of the exploits of a small robot dog, Sag, living with a family of robots at some future time when rockets are common transportation. Some robot characters are: Sag, whose Dash Hound body sags in the middle. Wag, the other dog that has a spring for a tail. Scat, the cat who thought that was its name, Tank, the father who looks like that. Wink, a child whose electronic eyes flicker, and Sank, another child who tried to swim. The story involves a series of escapades as Sag and Wag experience them. The illustrations are self explanatory, and the text is excellent as a bed time read-to-me selection. In addition it is valuable throughout the learning to read years as a vocabulary builder. It is excellent for children of all ages who love imaginary adventure stories with characters they are able to identify with, plots that are interesting and humorous, and settings that are unreal yet familiar. If this includes everyone it's intentional. The mother or father reading to the child should not be bored, and the child should be filled with curiosity and questions. To this end we have combined a simple picture story with a written version that uses adult vocabulary. In the read-to-me stage the need to explain word meaning, when asked, increases the interplay, and bond, between parent and child. This interplay will continue as the child begins to read alone and needs help in meaning and pronunciation. In pre-teen and above it's just a funny comic book.