Mon Ami Le Robot – My friend the robot – is a story about a little boy and his friend the robot who live under the sea in a futuristic landscape. One day the robot runs out of power, his human friend checks his power supply and sees that it is running out. When he visits the cupboard he finds that there is only one power pack left. They travel in their small submarine to find a new power source. Their trip is uneventful until they unwittingly try to capture a giant angler fish. Luckily they escape and find an almost unending supply of power. The ending is unambiguous and leads us to think that perhaps they were eaten by the big fish.

Teaching ideas

• Describe the robot.
• Write dialogue between the boy and his friend the robot.
• Design your own robot and power supply.
• Describe what the characters can see as they travel around the sea.
• Design where the characters live – design your own underwater future house and label it.
• Persuade people to buy your house in the style of an estate agent.
• Write a non-chronological report about the fictional creatures they encounter under the sea.
• Create a journal entry for the boy.
• Write a prequel – how the two characters met.
• Write an adventure story using the two characters.