Arno and the Mini-Machine

A prescient and humorous tale of a boy's futuristic life gone haywire with the interruption of ... nature.

GO BACK TO YOUR CLASS, says the mini-machine.
The brightly moving thing flutters into Arno's hand. It feels warm. Attached to a foot is a label, reading: BIRD.

Two hundred years in the future, Arno's pre-programmed, machine-controlled day takes an unexpected turn when nature intercedes. Arno wakes each morning when his personalized "mini-machine" tells him it's time. The mini-machine squawks at him all day: "Eat your Instant Mealtime," "Wait for the school jet," "Go to your electric tuba lesson," "Do not step off the Power Path"..... But Arno's curiosity and a little yellow bird lead Arno off his pre-programmed track. "Go Back to Your Class!" squawks the mini-machine with increasing alarm. Arno's mischievousness will delight young readers. And Seymour Chwast's illustrations, including his Seuss-like mechanical inventions, are both charmingly old-fashioned and presciently futuristic. A gentle corrective to our infatuation with electronics, Arno and the Mini-Machine is a sweet reminder of the joy of nature and following one's own path.