As my boys and I were preparing to leave the library on Saturday, our dear librarian picked up Traction Man is Here!, by Mini Grey (2005), and put it on top of our stack. I am glad she did; I wouldn't have touched it with a barge pole myself--picture books about militaristic action figures are not my cup of tea (being one of those parents determined to shield their sensitive Young from guns etc--oh the shock and horror when I realized there was gun violence in The Cat and the Hat Comes Back).
My husband and I have now read Traction Man is Here to our boys 8 times (4 in a row, then at intervals), and we still find it funny ourselves. It is brilliant. The first half of the book is straightforward imaginative play--Traction Man arrives in a box, equipped for various rescue environments, and, thanks to the wonderful imagination of the boy he now belongs to, he goes forth and rescues.
It is very well done. My favorite adventure was the descent into the deep waters of the Bath to search for the Mysterious Toes. But the brilliant part kicks in when Traction Man gets his own present from Granny. And what a present it is!
Recommended for those who like Toy Story II, Scaredy Squirrel, and Ten Minutes till Bedtime.
It is very well done. My favorite adventure was the descent into the deep waters of the Bath to search for the Mysterious Toes. But the brilliant part kicks in when Traction Man gets his own present from Granny. And what a present it is!
Recommended for those who like Toy Story II, Scaredy Squirrel, and Ten Minutes till Bedtime.
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