I have always enjoyed stories about talking toys. This book, Toys Go Out by Emily Jenkins, is an excellent example of the talking toy genre. In this story, a girl’s favorite toys have adventures, argue, worry, get lost and found, and generally live their toy lives. The three main characters (a stingray, a buffalo and a mysterious toy named Plastic) have distinct and loveable personalities. Lumphy the buffalo gets sick to his stomach when he is jostled around too much. Plastic has an identity crisis when he can’t find other plastics in the encyclopedia. And StingRay is certain she is the little girl’s favorite -- until she is left behind during a trip to the beach. She attempts to prove she can swim by submerging herself in the bathtub (despite her “dry clean only” tag). At its heart, this is a story about friendship and belonging. In addition to being a fun, gentle read-aloud, Toys Go Out will appeal to a wide range of independent readers as well.
- Mrs. I
