Adam Roberts of Salt Lake City, Utah

By Candace Arkell

“The trees are fun. The water is fun. The grass is fun,” begins a book written by five-year-old Adam Roberts. He should add a line that says “Adam is fun,” because fun is what he’s all about!

When you first meet Adam and his four-year-old sister, Mandy, you might think that they belong in a zoo. Adam is called “Monkey” because he looks like one as he climbs onto the top bunk of their bed at night. And because Mandy likes cheese so much, she is known as “Mouse.”

The “zoo” at the Robertses’ house even has a “wormhole.” To make it, Adam and Mandy put boxes and suitcases under their bunk bed until there was only a small tunnel left. Adam likes to hide there when they play hide-and-seek.

Although Adam likes to have fun, he can be very responsible. Once when Adam, Mandy, and their one-year-old brother, Thomas, were staying with their grandmother, she got very sick and had to lie down on the couch. Adam brought her a glass of water, as he’d seen his mother do. Then he knelt down beside the couch and said a prayer, asking Heavenly Father for help.

When he was finished, he knew just what to do. He brought his grandmother a pillow so that she would be comfortable and gave Thomas and Mandy some toys so that they wouldn’t cry. Then he called his mother, who was working at a nearby hospital. “Grandma doesn’t feel well,” he said. “Could you please come and help?”

Adam tried to keep his brother and sister occupied until his mother came to help. Then he said another prayer of thanks to Heavenly Father.

His grandmother felt much better by the time his mother arrived, but Adam wasn’t surprised. “I knew that Heavenly Father would hear and answer my prayer,” he said.

Adam knows how to combine responsibility and fun when helping his mother around the house. His favorite chore, “spot safari,” consists of hunting for spots in the house. When he finds one, he “shoots” it with a damp washcloth.

Adam and Mandy each have a special calendar hanging in their room. If they are helpful and cheerful during the day, they get to put stickers on their calendar—a smiley-face sticker if they control their temper, and a heart sticker when they are kind and loving. And if they put away their toys, they get a flower sticker. You can bet that their calendars are always covered with lots of stickers!

Adam has fun with everything—even snails! He studies snails because he wants to be a scientist when he grows up. He is also preparing to be a scientist by collecting bugs and rocks and by studying a book about insects.

Besides bugs and rocks, Adam collects sticks for the tree house that he and his dad are going to build next summer. They like to build things together and have already made a gate for the backyard.

Adam makes things by himself too. For Mandy’s dolls, Adam made a car, complete with headlights and steering wheel. He even hopes to someday build a car that will fly. He practices now by making other things that fly, such as paper airplanes. So someday in the future if you see a car flying overhead, look up! That just may be Adam Roberts waving to you from the driver’s seat!

Photos by Corliss Clayton

Adam Roberts

Mandy Roberts, Adam’s sister, likes to play with her brother.

Adam helped his father build this backyard gate.

Thomas wears a pair of bunny ears that Adam made.

Mandy and Adam work on a project.

Snails are one of the things that Adam enjoys studying.

Grandmother Stout hugs Adam, who helped her when she was sick.