#191 of 1001 · February 7, 2021

Arthur C. Clarke once said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” In his update of Goethe’s poem The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Ted Dewan explores this blurred boundary by swapping out the enchantment of fantasy for the machinery of science fiction. The Sorcerer here is an inventor, the Apprentice a robot he builds to tidy his cluttered workshop. In order to avoid the drudgery of chores, the robot consults his own schematics to create another robot, which creates another, which creates another, which creates another...each new automaton, a perfect copy of its predecessor, exhibits the same combination of curiosity and laziness. Fascinatingly, the process through which the robots are granted sentience appears to rely on phonographic records, a conceit Dewan underscores by integrating musical staff notation into the robots’ schematics. The language of this retelling incorporates lively energy and madcap humor while maintaining the drama and stakes of the original plot. #sorcerer #apprentice #inventor #robot #robots #robotics #tech #technology #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbooks #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks