I’m Programmed to Love You

In this installment of the Hazy Dell Love & Nurture board book series, a robot parent communicates love for a baby bot in a rhyming celebration of the duties that guardians undertake for their children. Utilizing the refrain “I’m programmed to...,” Barks surveys what guardians should offer, including safety, affection, and guidance. Román’s bright, imaginative illustrations stand out: a retractable umbrella emerges from the parent’s back when it rains, and an antenna projects stars on the ceiling at bedtime. (Providing levity for adults, the parent reads the baby bot a book titled The Uncanny Valley.) While this narrative ignores intentionality, framing parental love as innate programming over choice (“I’m programmed to love you/ every minute, every hour,// because it’s my love for you/ that gives me all my power”), children with an affinity for robots may enjoy this warmly illustrated ode to familial care. Ages 1–6. (Dec.)