Toys Go Out

I first read Toys Go Out when I was around seven. I liked the cover when I saw it in a bookstore, and begged my parents to buy it for me. It had lots of good reviews, and it seemed like it would be a cute, sweet story with lovable characters. It is not particularly cute OR sweet, and the characters' behaviour is often more horrifying and shocking than adorable. I'm not saying that I think it's a terrible book for kids to read. I enjoyed it a lot as a kid. The story is entertaining and imaginative. Parents and older kids may appreciate the funny moments and interesting writing, but younger kids may be bored and some may be upset by how the characters treat each other. POSITIVE ROLE MODELS (-0/5)- This story has some of the worst role models I've ever seen in a book written for children. The characters are often extremely mean and rude to each other (and there are rarely any major consequences for the characters who bully others) Here's just one example of how weirdly the characters talk to each other: "Waking up inside, Lumphy feels cramped and grumped. 'I wish I had been asked,' he moans. 'If I had been asked, I would have said I wasn't going.' 'Shh," says StingRay, though she doesn't like the dark backpack any more than Lumphy. 'It's not so bad if you don't complain.' The characters are almost always grumpy, impatient, and sarcastic. They are always jealous of each other and competing to be the little girl's favourite (the toys belong to the little girl, who the toys call Honey). Then there's weird scenes like this: "Lumphy licks StingRay's head once, then settles down to wait." Plastic is inconsiderate and annoying, and whenever someone insults her, she says something terrible back to them, like in this scene: "'Real buffaloes are interested in other people's problems,' she says." While most of the characters at least TRY to be nice, there are certainly no good role models in this book (or in the next book, where StingRay bites Lumphy hard enough to rip a hole in him). CHARACTERS: There are many interesting, complicated characters in this book. VIOLENCE AND SCARINESS (1/10)- No real violence, but a scene where a dog at the beach picks up Plastic may scare some kids. LANGUAGE (2/10)- No swear words and the insults don't get too offensive, but the characters are rude and mean to each other, and you might want to talk to your kid about being respectful to their friends after reading this book. WHAT AGE CAN A KID READ IT? I said eight and up because of the problematic behaviour and because I think most kids younger than eight wouldn't find the book very interesting. If your kid has been begging to read it, six and up is OK. IS IT AS GOOD AS PEOPLE SAY IT IS? Not really. While the book is entertaining and older kids may find it funny, there are definitely better books out there with better role models for kids. In conclusion, Toys Go Out is an interesting, unusual book that some kids will enjoy.