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- Herausgeber: Little Tiger Press
- Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
- Serie: My Babysitter is a Robot
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020
When Grandma creates a robot babysitter for twins Jake and Jess, chaos ensues! Robin is embarrassing, clumsy and, worst of all, programmed to make them do their homework. They're also pretty sure he thinks their dog is a baby. The twins decide they have to do something before everyone realizes that Robin is a robot. But getting rid of their new babysitter will mean putting aside their sibling squabbles and working together, which might be an even bigger challenge... The first in a brilliantly funny series about a robot babysitter and the mayhem he causes, perfect for fans of David Solomons, THE NOTHING TO SEE HERE HOTEL and KID NORMAL!
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Seitenzahl: 88
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Contents
CHAPTER 1
LIKE GRANDMA (WITH A BEARD)
“A ROBOT!”
I grinned. “Cool, huh?”
“I can’t believe you’ve got a ROBOT for a babysitter!” Ali shook his head. “That is so not fair! I have to go home with my auntie and look after my little cousins while you get to hang out with A ROBOT!”
“Ask if you can come round to mine then.”
My best friend pulled a face. “No fun until all your homework is done!” he said in his auntie voice. Ali’s great at voices – he cracks me up every time. “Hey, what do you think it’ll look like?” he said, reaching for his coat. “Maybe your robot will be all gold like C-3PO from Star Wars. Or a Transformer like Optimus Prime – or Bumblebee! How cool would THAT be?”
“Grandma said she was making a robot that looked like a human, so people wouldn’t be able to tell what it was.”
“Oh, yeah! I forgot your grandma made it.” Ali looked worried. He was probably thinking about the AUTOMATIC PORRIDGE MACHINE. I still had nightmares about that, and Ali hadn’t been allowed to sleep over at mine since.
I should probably explain. My grandma is an inventor. She makes all kinds of gadgets and machines. Some of them even work … sort of.
“Hey,” said Ali, lowering his voice. “Do you think if Brett knows you’ve got a killer robot, he might leave us alone?” We glanced across the cloakroom to where Brett Burton was emptying the contents of someone’s bag on to the floor.
“I dunno. I think Grandma probably programmed it to be a babysitter, not a killing machine.”
For a moment Ali looked disappointed, then his face lit up. “Hi, Ivana!”
I didn’t get why Ali thought Ivana was so great. She was best friends with my twin sister for a start, which showed a severe lack of judgement if you ask me!
“Hi, Jess,” said Ali, with less enthusiasm.
My sister didn’t answer, just steered Ivana towards the door as though we didn’t exist.
Ali was so busy smiling at Ivana that he didn’t see Brett coming. The shove sent us both flying. I tripped over my bag and Ali landed on top of me.
“Watch where you’re going!” said Brett, snorting as he lurched off in search of his next victim.
“I don’t care what your grandma designed that robot for,” said Ali, helping me up. “I’m still going to ask it if it can sort Brett out!”
When I saw my sister waiting at the edge of the playground, I knew straight away that something was wrong.
Jess is my twin, which means we’ve been stuck with each other our entire lives. I can’t even have a birthday without her getting in the way! Of course Jess behaves like it’s all MY fault, as if I got born deliberately just to spoil her fun. When we’re at school, we try to have as little to do with each other as possible, which can be difficult when you’re stuck in the same class. So I can promise you that my sister does NOT wait to walk home with me.
“Don’t go out there!” Jess dragged me and Ali back against the wall. “It’s at the gate!” she said. “WAITING FOR US!”
It took me a few seconds to work out that she was talking about the robot. Jess was less excited by the idea than me.
I peeked round the corner and spotted our new babysitter straight away. I’d like to say it was because our dog Digby was standing beside it, but that would be a lie. The robot was simply impossible to miss.
“Oh!” said Ali.
I wasn’t sure Oh! quite covered it…
The thing is, as well as being an inventor, Grandma is a great believer in RECYCLING. She has three sheds, a garage and two bedrooms in her house full of stuff that “only needs a –––” (fill in the blank). Like the bicycle that “only needs a wheel”, and the giant grandfather clock that “only needs an hour hand”. It tells perfect time and chimes obediently every hour, except you can never be sure which hour.
The list goes on, but I won’t. You get the idea.
Grandma hates waste, so the things she invents are always made from bits of other things that weren’t meant to go together. Which probably explained why our new babysitter was wearing Grandma’s old coat – the red one with the pink flowers and the furry collar.
“It looks like Father Christmas!” Jess groaned. “Look at that BEARD!”
“Grandma says that the beard hides the joins so you can’t see it’s not a real person!” I told her.
“Well, duh!” She frowned. “Hey! Are those my old Barbie skates?”
“And Dad’s football hat.”
“Um, I should get going,” said Ali. “Auntie’s waiting.” He was embarrassed for me. We’d been expecting a cool robot like Bumblebee … but the thing waiting at the gates looked more like Grandma with a beard!
I watched my friend run across the playground to where his aunt and a gaggle of little cousins were waiting. I was beginning to think that he was the lucky one.
Grandma must have programmed the robot to recognize us because as soon as we emerged from our hiding place it started waving.
“Miss Jess,” said the robot. “Master Jake! How lovely to meet you.” It sounded like Grandma putting on a deep voice, which is exactly what it was.
Grandma recorded the voices for all her inventions herself. If the robot was male, like this one, she used the computer to make her voice deeper, but it still sounded like Grandma doing a funny voice.
“My name’s Jake,” I told him. “JUST Jake!”
“My apologies, Master Just Jake,” said the robot.
“NO! I didn’t mean—”
Jess snorted. “So what’s your name?”
“My name is Robin,” said the robot. “Very pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“Where’s the car?” I asked, anxious to get away from school before too many people saw us with this bearded, roller-skating excuse for a robot.
“There are lots of cars. Which one would you like me to locate, Master Just Jake?”
“OUR car! The one we need to go home in!”
The robot tilted his head to one side and stroked his beard. Grandma must have programmed him to do that while he was processing information – a bit like the spinning wheel you get on the computer when you’re waiting for files to open.
Finally he spoke. “Today’s method of transportation to … HOME … will be … WALKING.”
“WHAT? You’re joking! Do you know how FAR that is?”
“Zero point four six miles,” said the robot. “At average walking speed we should reach our destination in seven point three minutes.”
I groaned with frustration. “Why didn’t you bring the car? Please tell me Grandma programmed you to drive.”
“As you wish.” The robot paused and cleared his throat. “Master Just Jake, it gives me great pleasure to inform you that your grandma programmed me with the ability to drive.”
Jess collapsed into a fit of giggles.
“I can also ride a bicycle, fly a plane and operate the missile-launch facility on a nuclear submarine.”
My sister stopped laughing and gaped at the robot.
“If you can do all those things, why are we WALKING?” I was so angry, my voice came out in an embarrassing squeak.
“Walking is an ideal form of daily exercise,” said the robot, sounding like he was reading from a website (which he probably was).
I noticed that when Robin needed to say certain words – ones Grandma hadn’t expected – he used the same electronic voice as the computer at home. So you’d have the deep grandma voice, then a word or two in an electro voice. It all just added to the strangeness.
“A relaxed stroll strengthens bones and muscles,” said the robot. “It reduces the risk of heart disease and helps you lose weight. Walking also increases the supply of oxygen to the brain which can make you more intelligent!”
“Pity it’s only zero point four six miles,” said Jess. “Maybe you should walk round the block a few times, Jake.”
“Ha ha! You’re not…” I stopped.
Jess turned to see what I was looking at and groaned.
Just when I thought the day couldn’t get any worse…
CHAPTER 2
FAKES, SKATES AND DROOL
It was too late to cross the road. From the grin on Brett’s face I knew he’d seen us. Most of the time THE BANE OF MY LIFE lurches around like a zombie, but when he senses an opportunity to ruin someone’s day Brett’s face lights up like a pumpkin at Halloween.
Jess was more worried about the girl he was with. While Brett was into simple, physical acts of torture – dead legs and flicking bogeys into your hair – stuff that didn’t use up too much of his limited brainpower, his cousin Olivia was pure EVIL. She looked
