Facts vs. Opinions vs. Robots

by Michael Rex

Overview

A hilarious, timely conversation about the differences between facts and opinions, by the creator of the #1 New York Times bestseller Goodnight Goon

Do you know the difference between a fact and an opinion? It can be a hard thing to understand. Some things are facts—like the number of robots in this book. Other things are opinions—like which robot would make the best friend, or which robot dances best. And sometimes to tell the difference between a fact and an opinion, you need to wait to get more information—that's because facts can be proven true or false, and opinions are things you feel and believe—but that you can't prove.

Mike Rex introduces young readers to the very important distinction between facts and opinions, and he reminds us that it is nice to listen to one another's opinions, and to stand up for the facts!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781984816269
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	02/11/2020
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	104,962
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD480L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Michael Rex has written and/or illustrated over forty children's books, including Eat Pete,With Any Luck, I'll Drive a Truck (by David Friend), the New York Times #1 bestseller Goodnight Goon, The Runaway Mummy, Truck Duck, and the Fangbone series (which has also been turned into an animated TV series). He has a master's degree in visual arts education (K-12) and worked as a New York City art teacher for four years. He lives in Leonia, New Jersey, with his wife and their two sons.

Editorial Reviews

10/14/2019

“Do you know the difference between a fact and an opinion?” Rex (Eat Pete!) creates an essential picture book for the times, with a cast of digitally rendered robots as his eager-eyed, rambunctious object lessons. First introducing a yellow, a red, and a blue robot, each with two eyes, the text asks some follow-up questions (“Do any of them have three eyes?... Is there a green robot?”) by way of introducing facts as “anything that can be proven true or false.” Which robot is more fun than the other two, however, is an opinion—“something that you feel and you believe but you cannot prove.” Though opinions are excellent expressions of individuality, they differ from facts. Wading out into the murky waters of discourse, he offers more tips. Listen to other opinions (one robot declares that another who doesn’t like scary movies is “a big baby”), reboot the dialogue (“BEEP!”), and find common ground (“I do like space movies!”). Rex and his robots ultimately make a fun, cogent argument for informed and civil conversation. These robots could teach grown-ups a thing or two. Ages 5–8. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

* “Charismatic robots populate this primer for kids growing up in an era when facts are considered debatable and opinions are oft expressed loudly and without empathy. Rex tackles a very serious topic infrequently addressed in kids' books: how to tell the difference between provable facts and far-less-provable opinions. To do this, Rex employs a handful of colorful and chatty robot pals who run through enough examples to make the distinctions clear. . . . Via a series of reboots, the robots learn how to respect opinions and engage in compromise. It's a welcome use of skill-building to counter an information landscape filled with calls of ‘Fake news!’ and toxic online discourse. . . . Perhaps most importantly, Rex's robots demonstrate that in the absence of enough information, it's perfectly fine to wait before acting. Vital information for young media consumers; it couldn't be timelier.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“'Do you know the difference between a fact and an opinion?' Rex (Eat Pete!) creates an essential picture book for the times, with a cast of digitally rendered robots as his eager-eyed, rambunctious object lessons. . . . He offers more tips. Listen to other opinions, reboot the dialogue, and find common ground. Rex and his robots ultimately make a fun, cogent argument for informed and civil conversation. These robots could teach grown-ups a thing or two.”—Publishers Weekly

“What a good idea! Show little ones how to tell facts from opinions—and do it with robots! The digital artwork features jaunty, colorful robots who bring up various topics and ask if they are fact or opinion. The colors of robots? That's a fact. . . . Which robot is more fun? That's an opinion. There are even questions, readers are shown, that can't be answered because more information is needed. The engaging robots, the simple text, the clean, crisp pages, and, of course, the question-and-answer format that gives young ones the chance to think and decide for themselves. . . . Parents, teachers, and librarians will find lots of uses for this, and even those working with somewhat older children can use it as a discussion starter.”—Booklist

“Starting with the basics of discerning facts from opinions, the discussion becomes surprisingly complex, as Rex explores the times when we have to wait for more information in order to claim something as a fact. Most important, he finishes up by explaining the importance of respecting the opinions of others. Rex’s word choice and sentence structure make this title ideal for a young audience, while his critical thinking questions and repetition of concepts ensure that this text will be a useful purchase for any teacher. Rex’s large, vibrant robots add whimsy to the discussion. Their goofy, solid-color frames pop against the white background, making it ideal for large group sharing. A must-buy.”—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

02/21/2020

K-Gr 3—In this informative picture book, a group of robots teach kids about the differences between facts and opinions. Starting with the basics of discerning facts from opinions, the discussion becomes surprisingly complex, as Rex explores the times when we have to wait for more information in order to claim something as a fact. Most important, he finishes up by explaining the importance of respecting the opinions of others. Rex's word choice and sentence structure make this title ideal for a young audience, while his critical thinking questions and repetition of concepts ensure that this text will be a useful purchase for any teacher. Rex's large, vibrant robots add whimsy to the discussion. Their goofy, solid-color frames pop against the white background, making it ideal for large group sharing. VERDICT: A must-buy for most collections.—Peter Blenski, Hartland Public Library, WI

School Library Journal

★ 2019-10-23
Charismatic robots populate this primer for kids growing up in an era when facts are considered debatable and opinions are oft expressed loudly and without empathy.

Rex tackles a very serious topic infrequently addressed in kids' books: how to tell the difference between provable facts and far-less-provable opinions. To do this, Rex employs a handful of colorful and chatty robot pals who run through enough examples to make the distinctions clear. For instance, it's a fact that the blue robot has two arms while the gold robot has four. However, while they both like to dance, it's less certain there's a definitive answer to the question: "Which of them has the coolest moves?" When the green and yellow robots share their preferences for ice cream (yes, robots eat ice cream, just add oil or nuts and bolts), it turns into a fight that might have come off a Twitter thread ("We are getting chocolate!" "No way, buckethead!"). Via a series of reboots, the robots learn how to respect opinions and engage in compromise. It's a welcome use of skill-building to counter an information landscape filled with calls of "Fake news!" and toxic online discourse. Rex never says that these 'bots sometimes act like social media bots when they disagree, but he doesn't have to. Perhaps most importantly, Rex's robots demonstrate that in the absence of enough information, it's perfectly fine to wait before acting.

Vital information for young media consumers; it couldn't be timelier. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews

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