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Toy Dance Party |
Author: Emily Jenkins
Published: 2008-09-09 |
List price: $16.99
Our price: $11.55
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As of: January 08th, 2009 09:23:05 AM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 A zany series of toy adventures will delight elementary-grade readers
Emily Jenkins' TOY DANCE PARTY tells of a stuffed buffalo, a stuffed stingray and a bouncy rubber ball who are best friends belonging to the Girl - who has begun to grow up, leaving the toys alone. A zany series of toy adventures will delight elementary-grade readers and adults interested in unusual read-alouds for kids. A top pick.
A Delightful Children's Book....
What is it like to be a toy, to have your present happiness and your future determined by "the girl" - a carefree eight year old who owns you? That is the question that runs through "Toy Dance Party" by Emily Jenkins. Continuing on from the first book, "Toys Go Out," we participate in several more mini adventures experienced by the toys (Brave Buffalo, Plastic the Ball, and Sting Ray, to name a few).
We begin to care about these toys. They are often kind, and they learn to be understanding of each other, and succeed in being loyal and supportive. These are life lessons that sparkle here and there throughout this 160 page children's s book. But such lessons are never intrusive. They gently thicken the action as the story moves on. Emily Jenkins tells her story in a style that seems perfect - cute, often funny, and always charming. The pictures, done by Paul Zelinsky, are just as lovely.
At the book store I felt the need to explain myself a little as I ordered this book that I felt I must have to keep on my shelves. "I read children's books, sometimes," I commented to the unsmiling clerk. "and this one is so, so special...".
A Wistful Follow-up, inventive as its predecessor
This book, the sequel to the brilliant and delightful Toys Go Out by Emily Jenkins, is slightly more sombre than the first volume. But the inventiveness, poetry, humor an warmth is as present as ever. Old characters develop and new characters are hilarious. You will never think of a Barbie the same way again.
A sequel that surpasses the first book
More adventures from the toys introduced in Toys Go Out . The chapters are largely self contained, and entertaining to read. The writing is quite smooth and sophisticated, yet understandable to a young child.
I have read about 100 chapter books to 4 and 5 year old, and Toys is one of my favorite for young kids. It is not plot based like most other books. Instead the characters are fully developed. The book is full of emotion: not common at this read aloud level.
First read aloud Toys Go Out, then this one.
 The little girl grows up.
We were very excited to hear that the sequel to Toys Go Out was coming out this fall. We immediately preordered it, as we love that book. However we were a bit sad that this one is slightly less wonderful.
In this book continues to follow the misadventures, and emotions of the toys of "the little girl", mainly Plastic, Buffalo, and Stingray. In addition there is also a new friend, a shark that joins in. The story is told from the toys perspective, with occasional omniscience into what others are feeling.
The adventures are similar to the first book, but there are two things that have changed. One is that since the girl is growing older and now into barbies (who are non-people in this book), the toys are feeling sad neglected, and apparently more than a little hostile about things. The second thing is that the girl (now named "Honey") apparently knows that the toys play without her, and they don't hesitate to leave signs of their adventures behind.
I think both of these changes make it a sadder, less fun book for kids. They know they don't have toys like these since they don't see the signs. Further Honey isn't very nice to the toys, which is fine since she is growing up. However children are not very aware of their own cruelty to toys (which is fine), as they move on, so they don't understand. It also makes Honey someone you don't want to identify with. So again limits the degree to which the kids get enmeshed in the book. Either of these would be fine if the first book hadn't been so completely wonderful, and gotten our standards so high.
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