Cog

Written by: Greg van Eekhout

Illustrated by: Beatrice Blue

Genre: science fiction

Summary:

Cog looks like an average 12-year-old boy, but he's actually a robot built to learn what it means to be human. He has a small family made of the scientist who created him and his sister robot, Gina and Ada. When unMIND takes him hostage, Cog discovers a more ominous side of humanity. This unique tale shows the difficulty of being an outsider and trying to understand humanity. 

Teacher Evaluation:

Cog is a great adventure filled with danger and humor, making it great for third to sixth-grade students. It would be interesting to integrate some computer science curriculum into the classroom with this text. My students would become "app developers" to create software that focuses on characterization in stories. First, we would discuss what features the author uses to shape each character in this book. Then, students would use a basic app development software to create books where the narrator paints a clear picture of the characters using the features we discussed.