Roberto, The Insect Architect

This is an encouraging sort of text, a follow your dreams type book. It was funny in that played with the names of real architects as they would be in some parallel bug world and it told a story that abounded with positivity and the general attitude that hard work and believing in yourself pay off. Fun little story. And the irony of a termite wanting to be an architect is hard to miss.

Roberto is termite, but instead of eating wood, he wants to build with it. His ventures are at first unsuccessful. However, by paying attention to his friend's needs and personality, Roberto creates custom homes that cater to those needs, and wins over the neighborhood.

This book could be a good community builder and help kids consider their classmates as individuals within their school community.

Roberto has high hopes of being an architect. His friends make fun of him, so he decides to leave and find his dreams elsewhere. It was a rough road, but after Roberto found some old run down buildings with a plan, his name went viral. Everyone wanted to hire him. He opened his own company and became the most famous architect in the insect world. This is a great way to tell children to follow their dreams whatever the circumstance.

Genre: Fantasy
Reading level: K-3
Summary:
Roberto the termite has this dream to someday grow up and become an architect. His mother scolds him for playing with his food and other kids laughed at him. Roberto was determined though. He moved to the big bug city and found that things were very expensive. He decides to help all the other bugs that have problems just like he does and builds them new homes. Everyone searches for the bug that created all these amazing homes. Roberto becomes a celebrity and he opens a business and creates many more amazing things.
Commentary:
This is a fun spin on termites. Roberto plays with his food and builds amazing things out of it. Even if a child had no idea what a termite is, by then end of the book they show more would understand the basics. It would serve as a fun way to learn about another insect that a textbook might not cover. show less

Summary: Roberto lives with a bunch of termites who was expected to become a chef like the rest of the termites. One day Roberto got the idea to travel to the city and build his dreams. When he got there, Roberto struggled with getting settled in. He had no where to live and had a hard time finding work. When he was walking down the street, he saw some other bugs that were having similar problems. This showed Roberto that his problems weren't so big and that other people have problems too. Roberto had a plan to help these other bugs in need. He developed a houses, stores, playgrounds and streets as a blueprint. Then he set out to find a location to build them. He found a dump with tons of wood and garbage and got to work. He turned the show more junk yard into a beautiful place for the bugs to live. He mailed the keys anonymously to the new owners and went back to his home. The bugs loved their new houses and word spread quickly about what Roberto had done. Soon, everyone had heard what he did and Roberto became very famous. The terminates that were mean to him in the beginning even changed their opinions on what Roberto was doing. Roberto inspired other bugs to be creative and they can be like him too.

Argument: I thought this book was a really cute way to show following dreams. I really like how the author portrayed the message to have kids follow their dreams. This story started off with a bug who was discouraged because no one liked his ideas. He started to work on them anyway and eventually, created something amazing. He proved all the other bugs that were mean to him that he could become an architect. Another message to kids is that they can become anything they want to be. Through Roberto's actions, he proves that he doesn't have to listen to anyone and can create his own future. This book was really inspiring in this area. show less

Roberto is a termite who wants to build with wood, rather than eat it. His dream is to be an architect. Over and over he is told by his family and friends that he was wasting his time. He is finally given the courage to try and fulfill his dream after meeting other insects in need of better community.

Robert is a termite who would always play with his food and build things. It was not until one day he decided to go and follow his dreams and become an architect. At first he felt very rejected by everyone when he tried to get a job. Hopeless he was on his walk home and ran into people who had problems worse than his. He decided to provide these people with homes and he became famous.