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How to Train Your Evil Robot
  • Published: 22 September 2026
  • ISBN: 9781464258404
  • Imprint: Sourcebooks Explore
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 40
  • RRP: $24.99

How to Train Your Evil Robot

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A hilarious and thought-provoking picture book for ages 4–8 that uses a tiny would-be villain to explore the promise and pitfalls of artificial intelligence, blending comic book-style fun with big questions about technology, empathy, and what it means to be human.

He's three inches tall. He has enormous plans. And he's about to learn a very important lesson.

How to Train Your Evil Robot is the wildly funny picture book that helps kids make sense of the AI world they're already living in — without any of the anxiety, and with all of the laughs. One kid, one skeptical dog, and one very overconfident robot walk readers through what AI can do, what it can't, and why being human is still pretty great.

Perfect for curious kids, savvy parents, and anyone who wants to stay one step ahead of the robots.

The funniest AI book your kid will ever read — a tiny robot with massive ambitions meets his match in one clever kid and their very unimpressed dog

Finally — a way to talk to your kids about AI that's actually fun, age-appropriate, and doesn't require a computer science degree

Smart, funny, and wildly timely — covers what AI can do (and what it definitely cannot) in a way that sticks with kids ages 4–8

Comics-style art and laugh-out-loud storytelling make every page an adventure — even the big ideas feel like play

The must-have gift for the AI age — because every kid is growing up with technology, and this book makes that hilarious instead of scary
  • Published: 22 September 2026
  • ISBN: 9781464258404
  • Imprint: Sourcebooks Explore
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 40
  • RRP: $24.99
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About the author

Joy McCullough

Joy McCullough is a playwright and the New York Times bestselling author of several books for children and young adults, including Blood Water Paint, which was longlisted for the National Book Award and was a finalist for the William C. Morris Award. She studied theater at Northwestern Univer­sity, fell in love with her husband atop a Guatemalan volcano, and writes books and plays from her home in the Seattle area.
portrait photo of Joy McCullough

Also by Joy McCullough

Suffer a Witch
Everything Is Poison
Enter the Body
Great or Nothing
We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire
Champ and Major: First Dogs
Blood Water Paint
See all

Praise for How to Train Your Evil Robot

How to Train Your Evil Robot is such a fun way to introduce young readers to emerging technology, but also highlights the value of the ineffable human experience.

Dan Yaccarino, award-winning author-illustrator of Doug Unplugged, The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau, Five Little Chicks, and recipient of honors including The New York Times 10 Best Illustrated, an ALA Notable, and the Parents’ Choice Award

A cute story about the power of dreaming big, even if it is an evil dream of world domination.

Kazu Kibuishi, creator of the #1 New York Times bestselling Amulet series