Customer Reviews

Toys Go Out: Being the Adventures of a Knowledgeable Stingray, a Toughy Little Buffalo, and Someone Called Plastic

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Toys Go Out," by Emily Jenkins and illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky, is one of those increasingly rare books--Middle Grade fiction aimed at the younger reader. Perfect for the six-to ten-year-old audience (and even younger, if read aloud), "Toys Go Out: Being the Adventures of a Knowledgeable Stingray, a Toughy Little Buffalo, and Someone Called Plastic" tells what happens amongst the toys when no one is watching.

As the subtitle indicates, the movers and shakers in Little Girl's world are a stingray, a buffalo, and "someone called plastic." The first episode, "In the Backpack, Where it is Very Dark," finds the three friends (and rivals for Little Girl's affections) bouncing along in a backpack. They're afraid: Will they be thrown away? Are they going on a scary trip? Why does it smell so badly in the backpack? Fortunately they're the starring attraction at Show-and-Tell, their status as Little Girl's favorites confirmed.

Over the course of "Toys Go Out," Stingray, Buffalo, and Plastic discover who they are and why each of them has a specific role in Little Girl's life. Stingray sleeps with Little Girl, Buffalo is a loved toy, and Plastic....Well, I'll let you discover who plastic is yourself.

Plastic, Buffalo, and Stingray are marvelous characters, but there's a fabulous supporting cast in "Toys Go Out" as well. Sheep is perhaps my favorite. When Buffalo hides because he's covered in peanut butter and does not want to go into the washing machine, he hides in a soccer shoe in the closet. Sheep wanders in and the following episode transpires:

"Sheep doesn't understand. She is distracted by the tasty-looking lace of the soccer shoe. It's not grass, and it's not clover, but it looks pretty chewable to the sheep.

She settles down next to the shoe and has herself a lovely munch, pulling the lace out bit by bit. She hears a Wurrffle Wummmpffle noise, and it's irritating, but she doesn't let it bother her. Pretty soon the sound quiets down to nothing.

When she is done chewing the lace, Sheep is mildly surprised to find herself in the closet. She burps and goes out to play pick-up sticks with the toy mice."

Buffalo is responsible for the Wurrffle Wummmpffle, being trapped in the shoe. Sheep, as you have read, had other concerns. The toys also interact with an urbane, intelligent, yellow towel named Tuk-Tuk and a grumpy, lonely washing machine.

"Toys Go Out" is highly recommended for children ages five to ten. It's funny, charming, and Zelinsky's drawings are a treat.

Author Emily Jenkins has a uniquely absurd sense of humor, one that is not always appreciated by all parents (witness the mixed, puzzled response to her delightful earlier picturebooks, "Daffodil" and "Five Creatures"...) Her humor blossoms and finds a comfortable home in the longer, more irony-friendly medium of the short novel, where complexity is more readily appreciated...

Anyway, this is a cute book that sort of picks up where the "Toy Story" films left off, exploring the emotional life of toys, or rather, of all the stuff that happens after the lights turn out. Stingray, Lumphy and Plastic are the three main toys in a certain little girl's life, and they each are anxious about their roles and status. Yet each toy also has its own moral center -- they worry and try to fit in, but ultimately are true to themselves and find contentment as a result. Lumphy, for example, tries to hide from the Little Girl after a peanutbutter-related mishap means a trip to the washing machine. He's never been in the washing machine before, and is terrified by the prospect. But when it turns out that the washer is a great conversationalist (even if the drier is not), Lumphy later connives to spill jam and jelly on himself whenever he feels in the mood for company. The book is filled with odd adventures like that -- it has an off-center, subtle, oddball sense of humor that the right type of clever, thoughtful child will really enjoy. Chances are their parents will like it too! Definitely worth checking out.

What a wonderful book for readers of all ages! It brought back good memories from my childhood, and also some insecurities.

Jenkins brings the three main toy characters to life -- a sting ray, a bounding buffalo and plastic, which is kind of a mystery guest, but a toy nevertheless.

Illustrator Paul Zelinsky adds further life and depth to each of the characters. There is lots of wonder and learning as the toys discover their identities.

The book moves along at a quick pace, but every now and then I'd close my eyes and remember something similar from my youth.

For example, one of the supporting cast is a washing machine, living a lonely life in the basement, with only the dryer to talk to. I remember when I was a little boy and afraid to go down in the basement and check out the wringer washer. I worred about getting caught by those wringers.

There are also a lot of happy moments with the toys and the little girl who loves them. So pick up the book and read it with your little ones. And please, be careful in the basement, especially around the washing machine.

What a great book for read-aloud, or beginning readers. The toys have personalities, they're funny and touching at the same time, and the book leaves you wishing that you had toys like these. I've already bought this book for my grandkids, and a copy for me, too!

My 7-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter demanded I read this to them again. This is the first time they have ever requested a chapter book be read a second time. They wait for their favorite lines and speak them along with me, laughing the whole time. My daughter plans to write a letter to the author asking for more stories about the toys, also a first. What a wonderful book!

I originally checked this book out of the libray for my 6 year old to read.

She kept laughing and bringing the "funny parts" for me to read too, that this quickly

became a family read alout. And just as quickly was returned to the library and

purchased! The adventures keep a six year old enthralled, but also her older 8

year old cousin (and 30 something parents!!) You will laugh at all the characters foibles

fear of trash eating sharks and vomit smell, 58 legged spiders, a very wise

towel named Tuk Tuk, and the revelation that blue really is better than orange

in the end! Buy it and enjoy!

Despite the subject matter, this book actually skews a bit older than one might suppose. The characters and humor will appeal to the 8-11 year old, if they can still acknowledge that they love stuffed animals. Wonderful pithy dialogue captures the foibles of the buffalo, a favorite bath-towel, plastic (!) and the somewhat flawed personality of stingray. My daughter and I were sorry to see it end.

Hi, I'm StoryMaker. My mom is forcing me to participate in the "Book It!" Homeschool program where you must meet a certain reading goal within the course of a month in order to win a coupon for a yummy, one-topping personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut. More often then not, I am not too enthusiastic about this, as I'm not such a "big reader". I guess that it's worth it, the reward being pizza and all, but I'm still mad at Pizza Hut for taking anchovies (which I find yummy, though they are salty) off the menu.

Anyway, enough about the pizza. This month's goal is reading two of a number of special books (which I think are mostly William Allen White books) which Mom has picked out. This thought left me groaning; however, one book - Toys Go Out - caught my eye. I was fond of these "living toy" tales. However, we ended up losing it for a relatively small time period, so it wasn't until today that I finished it. Now, you, the reader, should be saying "Yippee!" because I am actually getting to the point where I will actually review the book. It is quite short, not overly descriptive or adventurous, but quite fun. It is the tale of 3 toys belonging to "the Little Girl": Lumphy, a stuffed buffalo, StingRay, a stuffed...well, stingray, and Plastic, who is revealed to be a rubber ball. Over 6 chapters, this book describes tales of their average life. Outside of the 3, there are several other inanimate object characters, such as a yellow towel named TukTuk and a one-eared toy sheep. All of the characters have personalities that are recognizable and are not those cartoony personalities that can always be described in 1 word; they are actually realistic. The story is fun. It may not satisfy some people's craving for "true adventure", but it's not boring at all. Also, the illustrations are fantastic!

One of the first questions I wondered about the book was: "Why are the toys going out?" Well, um...often, they don't actually leave the house, and when they do, it is intended by their owners. There goes that question.

Overall, a good book for a young reader (or an old reader). May be better suit for females and isn't oh-so-adventurous, but is cute, fun, and brief. (BTW: On the back is some praise from Patricia Reilly Giff, who says it is a cozy book and is best read in a cozy spot. I agree! In fact, I was lying in my bed while reading it.) If you aren't sure, get it from the library and enjoy! Signed, StoryMaker. "Gotta trust the kid's review!"

The basic premise of this book, the lives of a girl's toys, is sweet and the stories are generally age-appropriate. But this book, which is listed as being geared for age FOUR to eight, talks about the toys being afraid of "AXE MURDERERS in the basement", not once, but THREE TIMES in Chapter 3.

I had to edit as I read aloud to my four year old - he does NOT need that explained to him at his age. I am very disappointed because the stories are *nearly* gentle. The "axe murderer" component is just not needed - wouldn't it have been sufficient to have the toys be afraid of the basement's spiders and unwashed socks? Now I'm going to need to pre-read the rest of the book to see if it's appropriate. Not what I expected from this type of book at all.

It's hard to say refuse a book with a fifteen-word subtitle, especially if tailing a three-word, barely-a-sentence title. There is no need to introduce the characters here, as the subtitle meets that need. The tone of "Toys Go Out" is light and the reading is easy, but the subject matter is much meatier than mere amusement. The characters' perceptions of their world are funny, and somewhat tainted by StingRay's "knowledge." For example, when Plastic meets a dog on the beach, she confuses it for a shark (a "possible shark" is what she calls it).

As we get to know each of the characters, they get to know themselves. This is mostly done in humorous ways (e.g., Plastic tries to understand what she is by consulting a dictionary) but the longing and self-doubt of their identity crises is realized. StingRay becomes downright dark at one point. Although she is "dry clean only," she decides to test whether she can float in the bathtub. She cannot float, and as the water climbs higher above her, she suffers a loss of faith in herself. She says, "I'm a sinker, and a stinker, too, and if I rot and drown and dissolve in this tub, it is probably better than I deserve." Whoa.

The content is otherwise benign, but there is a cadence to the text that I never quite got a hold on. It happens when StingRay conveys her worldly knowledge; the sentences

would be separated

into multiple lines which seemed like it

may have been either

poetic

or a list of some sort,

but neither "poetry" nor "lists" quite explain what was happening in those lines. The good news is, it isn't bothersome-the line breaks themselves or not knowing the reason behind them; you just keep busy enjoying the ride. And the chapters work as standalone stories, so you can take the book in whatever doses you like.