TBR-ia: September 16, 2026
This Week’s Wisteria:
A smaller wisteria this week - I love the cooler colors!
This Week’s Book:
The Wild Robot Protects, by Peter Brown
Quick Summary: A kind robot seeks a way to save her animal family and friends from a toxic ocean current destroying their environment.
I have been reading my nephew this series for a few months; we recently finished this third installment. After watching the movie adaption of the first book and seeing how much we both loved it, I knew I wanted to check out these books as possible ones to read together, and I have not regretted it!
Because our titular wild robot, Roz, has a “computer brain” and was faced with new scenarios for which that brain was not programmed, she previously had to learn and adapt in the middle of scenarios that we as humans might not give a second thought. This allowed us to take a fresh look at the parts of life that we value, how we make choices, and how we might need to change our “program” to grow as people.
In this third book, Roz has already overridden her programming many times to become a mother and friend, as well as to make her own choices instead of strictly doing what was expected by humans; previously, she had to leave her island home against her will, and now she must leave willingly in the hopes of saving it and the animals that live there.
In spite of Roz having a life-saving mission, this book contains plenty of moments of tranquility as natural environments are described on her journey. I love that readers are given opportunities to admire the physical world we live in and value it more as we see the sadness and death that comes from harming it.
I can’t claim to be well-versed or extremely political in my ideas and feelings regarding environmentalism and the like. However, as a Christian, I believe that the very first job given to mankind - the stewardship and care of our environment and the beings that live within it - is not something to dismiss or take lightly.
Romans 8:19 - 23 says this:
“For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.”
Creation fell with us, and it longs to be set free, “liberated,” from being chained to the rot and death that sin brought at every level, spiritual and physical alike. Following Christ is about being saved from the evil that seeks to claim us, yes, of course, but not so we can exist in some neutral vacuum. No, rather, to wipe the slate clean in order for it to be filled with abundance and life such as we have only caught glimpses of, as a child peeks through her fingers trying to see her gift a little early.
Maybe this feels like a leap - from robot in a kids’ book to spiritual reasons for caring for our world, but what a beautiful thing to be reminded of God’s truths from anywhere.
Maybe learning to care for the earth feels pointless from a Christian POV - scripture says it’ll eventually all end in fire in order to be remade anyway, right? True. But our process of being remade is going on right now. Why wouldn’t we want to become better stewards here, to be faithful with the little we have now, with the broken things we have now, to prepare us and to shape us into sons and daughters of God who will one day reach completion in Christ, made able and worthy to steward the new creation?
I am early, early in this journey. I am wasteful. I am unknowledgeable in many. many areas of creation stewardship. But how exciting to consider and begin to undertake the myriad ways and small, compounding steps I can take, we can take, to relearn our God-ordained purpose: imitating the Shepherd by shepherding the very cosmic playground God made for us to inhabit?
Let’s start - care for an animal, or create less waste, or pay attention to how our choices affect all the living things around us, or start a garden. Ah, a garden - sounds a lot like home.
Overall:
The Wild Robot Protects reminds me of how one of the best motivations for doing anything is the care we have for the beings and the homes we love.
We, like Roz, might have ways of thinking that we need to overcome to become people who are deeper, kinder, more connected to others. But we have an advantage that she didn’t - she was made by fallible humans who, as we learn in this book, don’t always have enough information to keep from causing harm around them, even when their intentions are good. We, however, are made by Someone and to be like Someone who knows it all, who makes all roads, even the harmful ones, the painful ones, the ones with destruction on every side, eventually lead to life, and life abundant.
Wishing you goodness without end,
Jess