The Wild Robot has a long future ahead.
Fresh off the release of the hit movie adaptation and shortly before the 2025 Oscars, where the flick is nominated for three awards, Peter Brown, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling middle grade book, tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview that he plans to take the titular robot Roz on plenty more adventures.
“I don’t think I’m quite done with Roz,” he says over a phone call. “I’ll probably do at least one more novel, maybe two. I have an idea for one that I’m pretty excited about. Who knows, maybe there’ll be more.”
The science-fiction book series follows a robot, ROZZUM unit 7134, nicknamed Roz, as she is left stranded on a deserted island after a hurricane. She learns how to adapt to her new life with the help of a few forest friends, and even adopts an orphaned gosling named Brightbill.
Brown released the first book in 2016 through Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, followed by its sequels, 2018’s The Wild Robot Escapes and 2023’s The Wild Robot Protects. Now, the author is set to publish an anticipated picture book in June called The Wild Robot on the Island – of which PEOPLE has an exclusive first look.
Copyright © 2025 by Peter Brown
This far down the line, how does he come up with new story ideas? Skilled as a writer and an illustrator, he says, “Every book sort of pops up in my mind all of a sudden.”
Because of that, Brown isn’t sure when the series will come to an end. “I have these ideas that I wasn’t expecting, so it’s hard to say how many books there will be at the end of the day,” he says. “My hope is that this is a series I can keep coming back to from time to time.”
The author, however, does not plan on staying in the forest forever. He has other stories waiting to be told, including his Creepy Tale series, which has its first spinoff chapter book out in September. That said, his bond with the special robot remains strong as he says, “It’d be fun to bounce between new ideas and then come back to Roz, sort of like an old friend.”
As for The Wild Robot on the Island, Brown is happy to return to his illustrator roots. “I went to art school and studied illustration, and so even though I’m writing novels now, I’m still an illustrator at heart,” he explains. “I just wanted to bring Roz and Brightbill’s life on the island to readers in big, full color, detailed illustrations.”
Copyright © 2025 by Peter Brown
The book will include brand-new scenarios that have yet to be featured in the book series, he says, and will hopefully introduce the franchise to younger readers.
It has been nearly 20 years since Brown began working on the book series. The author shares that it was around 2008 when he first thought of the now infamous characters. After, he found himself “tinkering with it for years and years” before the first book was finally published. Almost 10 years since the publication of said book, he is most proud of the “strong connection” between his readers and the material.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“It’s been a bestseller in multiple countries,” Brown tells PEOPLE. “It’s been translated into 35 languages, or something like that. And kids just really love the characters. It’s a story about kindness. It’s a story about community, about how we need each other. And about how one character, Roz, brings out the best in all these characters around her.”
Copyright © 2025 by Peter Brown
That theme of the book series is crucial, now more than ever.
“The main message, for me, is something that really resonated with Chris Sanders and the filmmakers also, which is that kindness is a survival skill,” the author says. “They say it in the film. The fox says those words as he’s talking to Brightbill — that Roz learns that kindness is a survival skill. I don’t actually mention it. I don’t use those exact words in the books, but I show it. I show Roz learning to survive through kindness.”
He continues, “I just love the idea that kindness is good for everybody, not just the recipient of the kindness. There’s a benefit to you also being kind to others. You are nurturing relationships and bonding with others. And that bond will end up being helpful to you too.”
Craig Barritt/Getty
Brown says that the overarching message is especially important “in today’s world where we’re getting a lot of mixed messages about how to treat each other.”
“I love that amongst the confusing world we’re living in, kids are getting this loud and clear message from The Wild Robot movie and The Wild Robot books that kindness is really good for you and for everybody else, so it’ll help you survive,” he says.
With multiple works on the horizon, the author is feeling “pretty pumped” about his upcoming Jasper Rabbit’s Creepy Tales chapter books, in collaboration with Aaron Reynolds, which he describes as “sort of film noir.” What’s next? Brown guesses, “It will probably be another Wild Robot novel.”
The Wild Robot on this Island is out June 24.
Read the full article here
