#NetGalley #Robo-Motion
I received an online version in exchange for an honest review. Robo-Motion captured my attention with it's engaging photos, motion related vocabulary and specific yet readable non-fiction text. To complete the positivity of this title, it has a glossary! I highly recommend this title for elementary school libraries and homes!

I've taught upper elementary school students for years and they are always amazed at how science and technology often mirrors the natural world. As I looked for books that may be a great fit in my classroom, I came across this book and knew I had to take a look. Wow, I was really impressed in terms of the connections made in the book and how different terms and concepts that may be considered too high-level for some students were explained well and often included photos/illustrations that supported the text. I think any reader could easily make the connections and understand the purpose behind the book where information is presented in a format easy to navigate and interesting to read. Great work!

I'll be honest -- I've never been all that interested in robots or AI. I love biology, the fleshy, messy and softer side of science. And I love imagining the kinds of animals and plants we could find on other planets. So when I saw a book that took all my beloved animal stuff and merged it with other scientific discoveries, I hoped it would be great fun. And sure enough, it was.

While reading Robo-Motion: Robots That Move Like Animals, I quickly realized that, of course, scientists wouldn't try to "reinvent the wheel". They're studying what nature had already figured out, for inspiration in designing machines. They saw scuttling crabs and thought "that works, we'll build that so we can handle rocky terrain too". Simple and genius.

Biomimicry is what it's called and it's so cool to see it in action. Whether it's AquaJellies monitoring water conditions or RoboBees keeping tabs on weather or crops, we can all look at how they're working and agree that mimicking the real thing makes so much sense. If you want to inspire a child toward STEM, I can't think of a better book to give them than this one.

I never really thought about how many items we use are similar to animals. It is interesting how scientists and inventors are able to create robots that were inspired by animals. This book does a nice job explaining it in kid terms. I think elementary school children would enjoy this book.