A prescient and humorous tale of a boy’s futuristic life gone haywire with the interruption of … nature.

GO BACK TO YOUR CLASS, says the mini-machine. The brightly moving thing flutters into Arno’s hand. It feels warm. Attached to a foot is a label, reading- BIRD.

Two hundred years in the future, Arno’s pre-programmed, machine-controlled day takes an unexpected turn when nature intercedes. Arno wakes each morning when his personalized mini-machine tells him it’s time. The mini-machine squawks at him all day- Eat your Instant Mealtime,
Wait for the school jet,
Go to your electric tuba lesson,
Do not step off the Power Path ….. But Arno’s curiosity and a little yellow bird lead Arno off his pre-programmed track. Go Back to Your Class! squawks the mini-machine with increasing alarm. Arno’s mischievousness will delight young readers. And Seymour Chwast’s illustrations, including his Seuss-like mechanical inventions, are both charmingly old-fashioned and presciently futuristic. A gentle corrective to our infatuation with electronics, Arno and the Mini-Machine is a sweet reminder of the joy of nature and following one’s own path.