ToysinSpaceThe Secret Lives of Toys

5stars

By Mini Grey
Knopf, $16.99, 32 pages

It’s an age-old question – Where do lost toys go? Just like those mysterious missing socks that never seem to make it out of the dryer, some toys seem destined to have adventures of their very own. It’s happened to every kid at least once – you go inside after a fun day of playing outside, but you forget to bring your toys back inside with you! Toys in Space, a fun book by Mini Grey, answers the question of what happens when you leave your toys outside in the garden at night! Little do you know, toys have secret lives of their own when their human companions are someplace else – but what do they do?

Together they lay on the grass, gazing up at the stars – Wonderdoll, windup robot, blue rabbit, pink horse, green dinosaur, small sheep and little cowboy. Because some of her pals are afraid, Wonderdoll begins to tell them a story about seven friends who are left outside on their own to stargaze for the very first time. The toys speak to each other using comic book-style speech bubbles as Wonderdoll weaves her spellbinding tale. Suddenly all the toys notice that one special star in the sky seems to be getting bigger and bigger! But that’s no star – it’s a spaceship! Soon they are beamed up and helping Hoctopize, a glove-shaped, pajama-wearing alien out searching the galaxy for Cuddles, his lost toy! Find out how the other toys help cheer him up before they return back home to earth. Will the lonely alien find his Cuddles?

Mini Grey, award winning author of the Traction Man children’s book series, returns to delight young readers with her humorous, heart warming story and whimsical illustrations. Kids will appreciate that almost every inch of each page is filled with color, artwork or text. Toys in Space is a feast for the eyes. The book helps reinforce the importance of cooperation and kindness and the idea that working together can solve many problems.

Reviewed by Elizabeth Franklin

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