I haven't enjoyed a middle-grade novel this much in a long time. Brown, who has only ever written and illustrated picture books, successfully dabbles in the world of children's novels in this story of a robot stranded on an island and the subsequent impact on the island inhabitants and her own programming. I'd recommend this to 3rd-6th grade. 
 This one is a page turner - the chapters are typically one to two pages, luring readers into the classic "just one more chapter!" trap. Brown's illustrations also add to the peculiar whimsy of the story by depicting robot Roz in her unnatural habitat, climbing mountains and interacting with the wildlife. 
 The Wild Robot is an interesting take on nature vs technology. Brown notes at the end that he found animals to have similarities with robots - naturals instincts are similar to computer programming in robots. He wanted to explore what that could mean for a robot stranded in nature, and I think his ideas really came alive on the page. Themes and morals aside, I imagine kids will love this exciting robot adventure, complete with an intense robot battle toward the end.