Runaway Robot is a funny and heartwarming adventure about two best friends helping put themselves back together, from the award-winning Frank Cottrell-Boyce, illustrated by Steven Lenton.

When Alfie goes to Airport Lost Property, he finds more than he bargained for. A lot more. Because there's a giant robot called Eric hidden away on the shelves. Eric has lost one leg and half his memory. He's super strong, but super clumsy. He's convinced that he's the latest technology, when he's actually nearly one hundred year's old and ready for the scrap heap.

Can Alfie find a way to save Eric from destruction - before Eric destroys everything around him?

What if your best friend was a robot?

About the Author

Frank Cottrell-Boyce is an award-winning author and screenwriter. Millions, his debut children's novel, won the CILIP Carnegie Medal. He is also the author of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again, Cosmic, Framed, The Astounding Broccoli Boy and Runaway Robot. His books have been shortlisted for a multitude of prizes, including the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, the Whitbread Children's Fiction Award (now the Costa Book Award) and the Roald Dahl Funny Prize. Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth was shortlisted for the 2017 CILIP Carnegie Medal and selected for the inaugural WHSmith Tom Fletcher Book Club.

Frank is a judge for the 500 Words competition and the BBC's One Show As You Write It competition. Along with Danny Boyle, he devised the Opening Ceremony for the London 2012 Olympics. He has written for the hit TV series Dr Who and was the screenwriter for the hit film Goodbye Christopher Robin.

Steven Lenton is a multi-award-winning illustrator, originally from Cheshire, now working from his studios in Brighton and London with his dog, Big Eared Bob. He has illustrated many children's books including Head Kid and The Taylor Turbochaser by David Baddiel, The Hundred And One Dalmatians adapted by Peter Bently, the Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam series by Tracey Corderoy and the Sainsbury's Prize-winning The Nothing To See Here Hotel series written by Steven Butler. He has illustrated two World Book Day titles and regularly appears at literary festivals and live events across the UK. Steven has his own Draw-along YouTube channel, showing how to draw a range of his characters. He has also written his own picture book Princess Daisy and the Dragon and the Nincompoop Knights' and his new young fiction series Genie and Teeny. For more info visit stevenlenton.com

Reviews
A comic and compelling tale set in a near-future filled with automated buses and dust-hog street cleaners, uproariously illustrated by Steven Lenton * Guardian *
What a funny, charming, life-affirming book. -- Richard Osman
The world he imagines is cleverly conceived and the spirit of fun and adventure is pure Cottrell Boyce, but there are also messages about acceptance and diversity, tucked away between the madcap antics, which will resonate with readers of every age. Expect plenty of laughs, some unexpected twists and turns, and a big smile as the last page turns. * Lancashire Evening Post *
A masterpiece that deserves to sell millions -- Amanda Craig * New Statesman *
A funny and heartwarming adventure * Ni4Kids *
A brilliantly observed and sensitively written story about two unlikely best friends who help rebuild each other. There were plenty of moments which really made me chuckle but also some shocking reveals and scenes which made my bottom lip tremble a little. I would definitely recommend it for readers aged 8+ * Library girl *
Storytelling at its snortingly-funny, hugely enjoyable and heartily-emotional best... a little bit warm and wise, a little bit tender and touching; there is a LOT to love about this book * The Reader Teacher *
Frank's imagining of this futuristic world where pizza ovens deliver your pizza and driverless buses is really brilliant. Strangely it feels like you could touch it, it's so close and yet in my mind it still feels like a lifetime away. For me that made the story feel more real and added to the warmth I felt about this compelling tale. The characterisation is genuinely brilliant and wonderfully diverse * BookLover Jo *
I was really looking forward to reading this book and I can honestly say I was not disappointed. This is a tale of humour, humanity and two friends trying to get to the truth * Books For Topics *
Cottrell-Boyce writes with confidence and flair, spilling his story into the reader's head with artistry and comedy, so that readers are equally amused and enthralled, but also touched with a large brush of heart. He has a keen eye for human quirks, and seeing them play out both robotically as well as in humans, is rather fun. And Steven Lenton's illustrations create that extra dimension of humour. * Minerva Reads *
this is a story that will stick in the reader's mind long after the last page is read * Parents In Touch *
hilarious, complex and hugely satisfying * Booktrust *
Confidently written with heart and humour, the unputdownable Runaway Robot will have children roaring with laughter and wanting a best friend robot of their own! * Armadillo *
Runaway Robot is a slapstick but complex tale of two companions who work to put each other back together after falling apart. Every page is a joy to read * South China Morning Post *
Alfie likes to hang around airports because the people there look as happy as he is not. He has a prosthetic limb - making him sympathetic to Eric, the giant, damaged robot he finds in lost property. Eric has not only lost an arm, but half his memory of some very important information. A riotous adventure ensues involving skulduggery, historic injustice and even a girl. For 8 yrs+ * The Daily Telegraph *
There is, as always in Frank Cottrell-Boyce's narratives, a real beating, human heart. Underlying this hugely entertaining story is an understanding of how children, like Alfie and his friends at the Limb Lab, cope with the experience of traumatic, life-changing injuries, and about the prejudices, real or imagined, that they experience from adults and their schoolmates. It also tackles the emotional and mental health issues that arise from these experiences. However, it is also a book about hope, the great strength of the human spirit and the capability that modern technology has to enrich lives. I would whole-heartedly recommend Runaway Robot. It is funny, thought-provoking and an easy read for most KS2 children. No doubt it will become another Frank Cottrell-Boyce hit -- NATE * Teaching English *
Frank Cottrell-Boyce's stories make you laugh and cry. Whether writing about two bereaved brothers and their stash of illegal money (Millions), or the first 11-year-old to go into space (Cosmic) or a boy whose missing limb and rebellious attitude to authority is exactly what is needed to rescue a marvellous lost invention (Runaway Robot), he is the real deal for children of eight and over. * Guardian, Amanda Craig *



Book Information
ISBN 9781509887910
Author Frank Cottrell Boyce
Format Paperback
Page Count 320
Imprint Macmillan Children's Books
Publisher Pan Macmillan
Weight(grams) 203g
Dimensions(mm) 197mm * 130mm * 19mm