The Toymaker [Library Binding]

Jeremy de Quidt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 10, 2010 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

What good is a toy that will wind down? What if you could give a toy a heart? A real heart. One that beat and beat and didn't stop. What couldn't you do if you could make a toy like that?

From the moment that the circus boy, Mathias, takes a small roll of paper from the dying conjuror, his fate is sealed. For on it is the key to a terrifying secret, and there are those who would kill him rather than have it told.

Pursued by the sinister Dr. Leiter with his exquisite doll and malevolent dwarf, preyed on by the circus master and his vicious painted wife, Mathias is drawn into a relentless nightmare. A nightmare that will lead him to the Toymaker, and to a knife as cruel as frost.

A relentlessly dark and sinister tale of a young boy's living nightmare, this debut novel will send shivers down your spine and will haunt you long after the final page. With the atmosphere of Philip Pullman's I Was a Rat!, this is a brilliantly frightening tale from an exciting new literary talent.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 6-8–The titular character does not long to bring joy to the hearts of children. Instead, he seeks to create a knife so sharp it can cut the heart from a living being, so he can transplant it, along with its life force, into one of his tiny mechanical dolls. The story, set in an imaginary 18th-century Germanic dukedom, begins with a short prologue describing the Toymaker's workshop in the capital city. Readers are then plunged into the perils of Mathias, boy servant to Gustav, a conjurer in a traveling circus. Supernaturally skilled, Gustav boasts when drunk that he knows a very big secret. As he lies dying, the evil Dr. Leiter appears, clearly after the secret, which seems to be written on a tiny wad of paper Mathias retrieves from Gustav's mouth. The plot then follows Dr. Leiter's pursuit of Mathias through the countryside. Companions join the boy in his flight, none entirely trustworthy: Katta, an abused serving maid; Koenig, a mysterious gentleman-robber; and Stefan, a youth from a charcoal burner's camp hidden deep in the forest. Dr. Leiter also has allies: Marguerite, a mechanical doll who can detect lies; and Valter, a superhumanly strong, indestructible, and sinister servant. Eventually the chase ends in a ruined monastery in the capital city, where the terrible secret is revealed at last: one that involves the Toymaker and could shake the dukedom to its foundations. With its choreographed fights, damaged bodies, flowing blood, and cliff-hanging chapter endings, the story will appeal to readers who like nonstop action.Margaret A. Chang, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams
© Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Filled with intrigue and exhilaration, this stylized adventure, reminiscent of both Dickens’ novels and Les Misérables, will easily captivate young readers. The wild cast revolves around Mathias, who, upon the death of his conjurer grandfather, is spirited away from the decrepit carnival they called home. His unknown new guardian appears to be after the secret contained on an inherited piece of paper, which is now in Mathias’ possession. But the guardian is not the only one who wants Mathias’ secret; seemingly everyone they encounter is pursuing it, too. After being severely injured in an escape attempt, Mathias acquires a protector in the determined kitchen maid Katta, and soon both find themselves under the wing of yet another interested stranger, whom, they soon discover, they can neither trust nor flee. Moving briskly across an atmospheric Germanic setting, the characters are chased by howling wolves, a dangerous dwarf, and unforgiving cold in a bloody, mysterious, and darkly thrilling quest. Throughout, the author cleverly avoids overplaying the characters’ desperation, while the titular toymaker lends an integral element of magic realism, with foreshadowed evil elements that are eerily revealed as the reader breathlessly reaches the unexpected end. Grades 5-8. --Andrew Medlar --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Library Binding: 368 pages
• Publisher: David Fickling Books (August 10, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385751818
• ISBN-13: 978-0385751810
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 1.2 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,438,259 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing storytelling, but not for the faint of heart, September 12, 2010

By 

J. Prather (IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Toymaker (Hardcover)

The Toymaker is an amazing read. From the very beginning we are treated to things such as evil carnival sideshows, and toys that come to life with the hearts of living things. At the heart of it all is young Mathias, who we meet as a virtual prisoner of a conjurer he believes to be his grandfather. Mathias has been told that old Gustav has a secret, and when the old man finally dies, off we go on an adventure to discover the secret and all that it entails. On the way, there is death, torture, grave digging, creepy dolls that can tell when someone is lying and finally a nail biting climax when all is revealed in it's Lovecraftian splendor.

It's hard for me to envision this as a children's book in that it is at times incredibly violent, and the images the author so vividly creates are very horrific. As an adult reader, I found this story very creepy and enough to induce more than a few shivers. I have always been creeped out by evil carnivals, and the whole prospect of an evil toymaker that gives his dolls human hearts is terrifying to me on numerous levels. Perhaps kids won't find it as terrifying, but I'm just not sure. Young horror and fantasy fans ages 12 and up will no doubt find this a delightful read much as I did. I would just be hesitant to place it in the hands of a 9 year old as the publisher's age recommendation shows. This is edge of your seat fantastic storytelling that is not to be missed.