I really liked the idea behind this book but I felt that the illustrations were too dark for a book of this nature. My daughter is 7 so will be Robin's age on her next birthday and I have to admit as a parent, having read the book myself it is not one I will be reading with her.

It felt more like a nightmare sequence with the colours used but it could be a book that others do enjoy. It didn't stand out for me amongst the other Children's books that are available in this genre. The text used was not age friendly for me and I didn't really like the illustrations for the book either.

It is 2 stars from me for this one, give it a go, some other reviews are more positive - but honestly, just wasn't one for me

This book is a magical treat for young readers, perfect for anyone who loves adventure and discovering themselves. On Robin’s eighth birthday, when it seems like everyone has forgotten, they are whisked away by the Cat-Headed Wanderer to a fantastical treehouse party. There, amidst singing, dancing, and new friends, Robin embarks on a heartwarming journey of self-discovery. Rainie Oet’s beautiful writing and Mathias Ball’s enchanting illustrations create a captivating world where friendship and self-love shine. This story is a wonderful blend of joy and introspection, making it a memorable read for children and a celebration of finding one’s place in the world.

Robin feels different from others and thinks that the birthday has been forgotten, too. Away they go on an imaginary journey to a fantastic world and learns that there are others out there, too.
The artistry of the illustrations by Mathias Ball are so colorful and full of imagination.
Well suited for reading WITH someone of any age including ESL, and great for gifting to EVERYONE, but especially to a school, hospital, or your local public library!
I requested and received a free temporary EARC on Adobe Digital Editions from Astra Publishing House | Astra Young Readers via NetGalley. Thank you! Avail Dec 03, 2024

This is such a beautiful story about celebrating self-love, friendship, and community. I love the imagination world that Robin escapes too and can see children loving this book.

Thank you NetGalley, Astra Young Readers, and Rainie Oet for the early access copy of Robin’s Worlds.

Robin’s Worlds is the story of a nonbinary child who is swept into their vivid imaginary world. With visually stunning illustrations and an eye-catching color palette, Robin’s Worlds is a beautiful book. However, the story could use more context at the beginning and simpler language if the intended audience is younger children.

Thank you Netgalley and Astra Publishing House for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Robin’s Worlds is about a non-binary child, Robin, who worries that everyone has forgotten their birthday. While in their room, they get swept away into a colourful, magical world that helps them realize just how special and loved they are!

This book is illustrated so beautiful. The use of shapes and colours is incredibly captivating and keeps your eyes stuck to the page. I really enjoyed the art style!

This story was beautiful. It held a wonderful message that I really enjoyed, but the story itself could have been improved with better writing. The beginning of the story was a bit confusing and took some time to understand. In a book with such few pages, this was a bit annoying.

There was a lot of context left to the imagination that I wish wasn’t. I wish we learned more about this magical world. I also wish we had a bit more background context such as Robin’s parents.

This isn’t very plot-heavy, but more so just beautiful illustrations. It is nice to see a non-binary character and I hope we see more representation such as this in future books.

Robin is a nonbinary kiddo who’s sitting at home on their birthday. When they’re suddenly whisked away to a magical, warm land of joy, color, and individuality, they celebrate with new friends — and learn that this can be a part of their reality, too.

Such a precious and beautifully illustrated story (particularly for queer kids) about finding your people.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book has beautiful artwork and a fun imaginary world. However, it seemed to jump into the story without giving much background.

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced ARC of this children's book

I was with a friend and putting her little one to sleep reading this to her and she adored it, she loved how colourful it was and all the imaginary friends Robin has (which I then said to them - they may have imaginary but it shows how the brain can create beautiful things if u allow urself to have no limitations)

This book was colourful and vibrant with a sweet story about a little girl celebrating her birthday

My mate's child loved it ❤️ I asked her to rate it and so we have all the stars hehe 😊

** I received an e-ARC of this book from Netgalley and this is my honest review**

Solid 3.5 stars but I couldn't fall in love with it as much as I hoped.

The representation, characters and art is what really makes this book stand out. But I kept feeling like there was something missing in the details. Even from the perspective of a children's picture book, the conflict was never clear but several issues were hinted at. This left me feeling a little disconnected from the emotional aspect of the story.
Some questions:
Why is Robin alone in their basement?
Is this their first birthday without their parents?
Why do they want to stay in their imagination/this other world?
Who are the shadowy figures? Are they their parents?

The writing style reminded me of some picture books I read growing up with its specific details. It did seem to be written at a higher reading level than I expected due to the way the sentences were structured.

Its a beautiful book with an interesting premise. I would suggest it for jts representation but kids may have questions that are hard for adults to answer just because the answers aren't in the text.

Robin is a nonbinary child who is turning 8 years old and feels like everyone forgot. But when the Cat-Headed Wanderer appears, they realize just how special and loved they are. This was such an adorable book that subtly uses nonbinary pronouns when talking about Robin. I really loved this book from the words to the beautiful pictures that drew me in. You can feel Robin's sadness and their happiness when they realize how loved they are!

Firstly this art style is immaculate, the combination between the reds and greens is so visually pleasing, I love it. I believe this book would be a good tool to help children learn and understand they/them pronouns and that this would be a perfect book for a story time; its a little complex for children but visually and engaging enough to be read aloud. My only critique is that the storyline can be a little jumpy at times but I don’t think kids will care or notice.

Robin's Worlds is a picture book that follows Robin, a nonbinary 8 year old, on their birthday to a magical world. The illustrations throughout this book are breathtakingly gorgeous, and really elevate the story. The text itself is meaningful, but at times confusing. I think it may have worked better if Robin was closer in age to the kids this is targeted to, and if some of the backstory was more fleshed out on page. I appreciated the subtlety of using they/them pronouns throughout, without speaking more overtly about identity. This can help normalize its usage from an early age. Overall this was still a lovely read, and will be a good addition to any picture book library.

Another GORGEOUSLY illustrated picture book from Mathias Ball, that is full of whimsy, love and a beautiful story featuring an 8 year old nonbinary child celebrating their birthday. Orphaned at a young age, Robin lives with their uncle and in one of their dreams gets whisked away to a magical world full of acceptance, love and new friends. Heartwarming, affirming and full of positive messages, this is sure to delight young readers and become an instant favorite! Perfect for fans of books like Still my Tessa. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this picture book coming out in December 2024!

This was a very pretty book. I just felt like I was missing something. It seemed to jump into something and I felt lost.

Well this was just darn precious.
The artwork in this is just beautiful! I loved the detailed, colourful illustrations.

The concept of this book is wonderful, and the story was sweet.

It was just really lovely.

The biggest takeaway that I got from this book was the outstanding colour palette used in the creative illustrations. Warm and comforting scenes surround the characters throughout the entire book.

The messaging of non-binary children finding friends around every corner was not as overt as I had hoped, and I don’t think pronoun use will be overt enough for young children to focus on due to the imaginative illustrations and the dream scene taking over.

I think the beginning of the story could be developed more to provide more context about searching for friendships, loneliness, etc.

A review was posted publicly on StoryGraph

<i>Robin’s Worlds</i> is pure childhood fantasy. And for that, I think the book’s artwork gets nearly everything right—the colors are bright, the visuals are engaging, the characters are gorgeous. There is no question in my mind that the book has every ability to draw young children to it and keep them flipping the pages.

Unfortunately, problems set in when we actually look at both the language and the story itself. I <i>really</i> wanted to like this book, but from the second I started reading I knew that the writing had some serious problems. The most egregious, of course, is that we truly have very little understanding of what is actually happening in the story—and I say this as an adult. If I have no idea what is going on, how can the author expect a child to?

It’s clear that it has something to do with a birthday—have the adults in this child’s life forgotten the birthday? Is this the first birthday after a tragedy? Are they all busy working? Have they moved? Do they have no friends for a party? Is this lack of birthday party due to their non-binary status? What is it, exactly, that has brought us and this child to this place? Why is it that our poor Robin has to rely on their imagination to celebrate their birthday? And by the time I’ve finished reading, I’m left with more questions than answers.

I appreciate the characters, as the characters are all lovely. I adore Robin and their imaginary friends. I love Robin’s uncle. I’m curious about their parents. But part of the problem is that I truly don’t understand what the connections are and why they are they way they are.

Suffice to say, the writing is also very advanced and stilted. I don’t think this is the sort of book I would want to read to a young child, not only because I don’t think it’s very clear about what is happening, but also because the writing just isn’t good enough. The sentence structure doesn’t work and there’s nothing in here that flows melodically enough for a kid to want to listen to.

I’m a pretty strong advocate for children’s books that are within accessible understanding for specific age groups. This isn’t the kind of book that you could give to an emerging reader as a result of its language, therefore I see this as the sort of book that you want to sit down with your baby or toddler and read to them. But when we have books like that, those books should have a flow to them. There should be language that they will understand and be able to interact with. I’m all for growing vocabularies, but you can’t just throw a ton of it at a kid and expect them to pick it all up.

So, yes, I really wanted to like this book. And I’ll definitely recommend it to non-binary children I meet should that ever occur—but I feel that is truly more so because this book has a non-binary main character in it and those are so far and few between and not because the story or writing is actually any good.

I’ll start off by saying the illustrations in this book are stunning! The usage of color is so pretty. Each page has so much to look at. The story on the other hand, left a bit to be desired. I found the beginning pages to be confusing. There is reference to 1996 and I confused how they knew that. I also hoped for a bit more context related to the magical land. I do think this book has a great message of expectance for young children. It is important to help trans kids to feel seen and heard.

I absolutely adored the art style. It's so special and magical, extremly fitting for the story. And so warm and colorful! I am totaly in love! The message of the book is hella cute and so important! We all need to find the right people in our lifes, no matter if queer, old or young. I will definitly recommend this book!