Wendel's Workshop

Wendel is an inventor. He tends to be a bit of a perfectionist. So, when the robot he has created to tidy his workshop proves to be endearingly shambolic, he quickly sends him down the rubbish chute, and makes another. This second robot, the Wendelbot, is much more efficient. In fact, in a monstrous reflection of his creator (he even has a pointy nose and whiskers), he proves to be absolutely ruthless. The robot workshop is not a new subject for a picture book, but, in this tale of a hapless mouse in a boiler suit, for whom recycling is a matter of life and death, Chris Riddell brings to bear his considerable talents for pictorial characterisation and storytelling; and makes full use of the opportunity to weld and bolt together a parade of loopy pick’n’mix metal monsters. It’s a story full of energy, humour and charm, and a marvellous celebration of the joy, therapeutic value and moral benefit of junk modelling.