Spy Toys

October 30, 2017
Comically inept characters, screwball plotting, and snarky dialogue fuel this adventure from newcomer Powers. At the Snaztacular Ultrafun toy factory, Dan (a teddy bear with a faulty snuggle chip that causes him to hug with kid-crushing strength) and Arabella (a rag doll whose crossed wires have left her “with the attitude of a bad-tempered rattlesnake”) escape from the reject pile. Along with Flax, a police robot disguised as a rabbit, they are recruited as “Spy Toys” by the Department of Secret Affairs, an organization that prevents “horrible things from happening.” Their assignment: protect a senator’s son from being kidnapped by Rusty Flumptrunk, a cereal mascot turned criminal. Wesson’s high-energy cartoons make the most of the toys-gone-wild premise (in one funny sequence, Dan, Arabella, and Flax test their skills against a trio of out-of-control toddlers), and the unlikely allies’ near-constant bickering keeps the pace quick and the laughs coming. It’s an entertaining riff on the idea that supposed faults can actually be assets, as well as the rewards of finding friends in surprising places. Ages 8–12.

November 1, 2017

Gr 3-5-Set in an ambiguous future of policebots, genetically engineered cereal mascots, and toys with minds of their own, Powers's action-packed novel starts off at a jog and keeps the pace quick all the way through. Dan, a robotic teddy bear designed to snugly hug neglected children, gets plucked off the assembly line at the Snaztacular Ultrafun factory for possessing a "faulty snuggle chip," a flaw that makes his instinctive cuddling hazardous to children. He's quickly dropped down a chute to the dark underbelly of the factory, a wasteland of faulty and damaged toys. There Dan meets a misanthropic rag doll named Arabella, who helps them escape the factory, where they both fall in with a police-trained robot rabbit named Flax. Soon enough, all three misfits are being roped into a secret mission to protect a senator's son from kidnapping by a maniacal half-elephant. It's quite a lot of plot for a relatively short volume, and Powers sacrifices context in favor of action. But there's so much action-ice cream heists, disguises, downhill ski chases-that it should be an easy stepping stone for young readers who are moving beyond early chapter book series and are used to a fast read. VERDICT An entertaining choice for reluctant readers.-Abigail Garnett, Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2017
In a near-future "doll-eat-doll" world, three smart but defective toys join forces to escape the rubbish bin and fight crime. Hardly have Dan, a Snugallific Cuddlestar teddy so uncontrollably strong that the hugs he is programmed to give tend to have gruesome results, and truculent Arabella, a Loadasmiles Sunshine rag doll, escaped from the Snaztacular Ultrafun factory and met up with Flax, a nattily attired police bunny missing a significant portion of his anatomy, than all three are collared by the mysterious Department of Secret Affairs to form a special "Spy Toys" unit. Their first assignment, as bodyguards for a senator's 8-year-old son, Sam, nearly ends in catastrophe when the lad is kidnapped by Rusty Flumptrunk, an elephantine ex-cereal company mascot who's turned crime lord, and strapped to a giant mayonnaise bomb. The tale takes an ugly turn at the climax, when the toys overcome Flumptrunk by taking advantage of his peanut allergy to leave him in a state of anaphylactic shock. Otherwise, Powers dishes up a comical romp with central characters who display brains as well as brawn and, while learning how to live with disabilities, also figure out how to leverage them to save both the lad and the local community from awful fates. Wesson's frequent, blocky cartoon illustrations and vignettes add appropriately wacky visual notes. Human and humanoid figures are all white. A riotous thigh-slapper with plenty of Toy Story in its DNA. (Crime comedy. 8-10)

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December 1, 2017
Grades 3-6 Dan, a Snugaliffic Cuddlestar teddy bear, is dismayed when he finds himself in the dungeon, a holding pen for Snaztacular Ultrafun's factory rejects. Dan's supposed to gently hug children, but a manufacturing error made his embrace fatally strong. Luckily, however, that's just the kind of skill the Department of Secret Affairs needs for their latest mission, covertly protecting Sam Spinks, the son of a powerful senator, from a kidnapping threat. Dan is joined by Arabella, a kid-hating doll with a fierce fighting spirit, and Flax, a supersmart stuffed rabbit, and the trio embarks on a fast-paced, gadget-filled spy caper filled with zany escapes, talking toys, and a mad villain close on their heels. Though there are some grating moments, the over-the-top humor and madcap situations will please kids looking for comedy, and the cinematic pacing and episodic structure is tailor-made for kids who prefer to read in bite-size pieces. Frequent black-and-white spot illustrations add even more whimsy to the proceedings. With a cliff-hanger ending ensuring even more adventures, this series starter should find broad appeal.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)