Kids love robots.

Several months ago, for family movie night, we watched Short Circuit. I have four kids and they enjoyed it. Especially my youngest – at the time just about to turn three. She couldn't stop talking about the robot and what it did, everywhere she went and to everyone she talked to.

I asked her what she wanted for her birthday - “Robot!” came quickly. Just to make sure I hadn't lost count, I asked her how old she would be on her birthday - “BIG ROBOT!!” she said.

Weeks later, as her birthday approached, this robot talk had not subsided, so I got her a RoboSapien robot. Her birthday is in November. At Christmas, she was still asking for robots.

I got her Roger Bridgman's Robot, a DK Eyewitness book. It is a 64 page book that is filled with pictures of robots and she just loves it. It is now her favorite bedtime story book. I suspect a lot of dad's would also enjoy reading this with younger children. They invariably ask lots of questions and it is fun to sit can try to explain something to them. But I have admit after 3 months I'm ready to read something else!

Niki's favorite robot in the book is the Robug – it is really cool. It is an eight-legged bug-like crawler with feet have have suction cups in them enabling it to climb walls.

This book takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of robots, from mechanical devices built in 1795 to things many don't realize exist today. It covers robotic sensors, artificial intelligence, mobility, remotely operated vehicles, battle bots, soccer-playing robots, industrial bots, underwater bots and, of course, the Mars rovers.

This book is best suited to younger children. In DK fashion, it is driven with lots of full-color photographs on every page but the text is on the lite side. If you like experimenting with robots, you won't learn much here, but you just might find some inspiration. Especially when you try to explain robot feet with suction cups to a 3-year old.