Automaton

‘Automaton’ is a true story, delivered masterfully by veteran children’s author Gary Crew and complemented by newcomer Aaron Hill’s striking illustrations. The book serves as a modern parable, warning against the rise of the assembly line in this age of dehumanising automation.

Following his invention of the light bulb and recorded sound, Thomas Edison turned his genius to the invention of a doll which could both speak and walk. Ten thousand of these “automaton” were assembled but they proved a failure. Being made of metal, they weighed almost 10 kilos. Edison was furious. He ordered a huge pit to be dug in the grounds of his factory where the unsold dolls were to be buried as if they were flesh and blood. The invention of this near human automaton suggests that like Dr Frankenstein before him, Edison was playing God.