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Overview
That summer night, the toys were left outside. . . . For the very first time, the Wonderdoll, the helpful wind-up robot, the thoughtful green dinosaur, and the rest of their plucky gang lie in the grass, gazing up at the stars. But one star seems brighter than the rest. As it grows bigger and bigger, the toys realize it may not be a star at all! Soon they're venturing into the unknown, traveling by spaceship, where they meet a lonely alien in need of help, and some friends.
From ever-inventive, award-winning author-illustrator Mini Grey comes a hilarious and heartfelt new adventure: a motley group of toys left outside in the garden become true friends and brave heroes—in space!
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
Seven toys, strewn in a grassy yard on a summer night, stare in awe at the starry sky. Among them are a superhero, robot, cowboy, and various animals, and voice balloons suggest their range of personalities. “ ‘We need someone to tell us a story!’ said the Blue Rabbit. The Wonder-Doll thought for a moment, and then she began.” The doll imagines their abduction by an alien who looks “rather like a glove.” The Hoctopize is on a mission to find “its Cuddles,” a beloved plaything, and the misplaced toys aid in the quest, hopeful that they themselves will not be forgotten long. The toys in the yard peek in from the margins of Grey’s comics-influenced pages, offering their opinionated commentary on the WonderDoll’s storytelling (the effect is akin to a particularly boisterous preschool story hour), even influencing the direction the tale takes. As in her Traction Man books, Grey plumbs the pathos and humor of carelessly treated playthings. Her double narratives hint at toys’ secret lives and the desire, after adventuring, to feel safe—impulses children will easily recognize in themselves. Ages 5–8. (May)From the Publisher
Starred Review, Publishers Weekly, March 25, 2013:“Grey plumbs the pathos and humor of carelessly treated playthings. Her double narratives hint at toys’ secret lives and the desire, after adventuring, to feel safe—impulses children will easily recognize in themselves.”
Kirkus Reviews
Keenly intelligent artwork teeters on the delicious borderline of scariness in a nighttime toy adventure. A boy runs off the page. "That summer night, for the first time, the toys were left outside." In the green grass lie seven small playthings. The sky darkens; stars emerge. The toys are quiet, then fretful and panicky--so WonderDoll tells a story. In it, a spaceship beams them all upward. How disconcerting! The alien "probably likes to eat pink felt!" speculates Pink Horse. "It might drool at the toys!" quivers Dinosaur. "Someone might get their stuffing probed!" worries Small Sheep. But the alien looks like a glove wearing pajamas--and it's sobbing. Hoctopize the alien grieves its own lost snuggle object. The spaceship holds thousands of toys that Hoctopize has collected from gardens all over Earth, seeking its missing Cuddles. Tiny labels catalogue the stolen creatures' origins ("Picnic Table, Front Lawn, 37 Spoon Drift, West Cutlery"). This tale has a heart of gold, while the art uses comic-book sensibility (horizontal and vertical panels; speech bubbles; ever-changing angles) and a savvy aesthetic to prevent any hint of saccharine. Does it matter whether the journey was WonderDoll's invention? Blending edginess and childhood reality (the uniqueness of one's own stuffed toy), this will satisfy many tastes. A preschool sibling to Adam Rex's The True Meaning of Smekday (2007). (Picture book. 4-7)Book Details
Published
May 14, 2013
Publisher
Random House Children's Books
Pages
32
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780307978127