Book review: Too many toys

What could be better than a book that does the telling for you… The middle one just had his 3rd birthday and his little brother bought him this book.

“…Have you ever stepped on a Lego piece in your bare feet? Or a Jack? Well, it really hurts!”

[tag]Too many toys[/tag] by [tag]David Shannon[/tag]

Spencer is the boy who has lots of toys.  In fact the house he lives in is overflowing with toys. After a particularly bad day his mother decides the toys have to go.

Have you ever tried to reason toys away from your child? Spencer is the master.

Who’ll win ? There’s an unexpected twist that I won’t spoil at the end that would make any mum proud.

The illustrations are great. The close ups of Spencer show his emotions really clearly. I’ve already caught my 3 yr old trying to imitate them. Reading the story makes me smile as Spencer could be my son or your son. When have we not had conversations like these and reactions and actions like Spencer and his mum. The universality of these scenes means most parents can relate and kids too.

We like playing I spy with the toys in the picture as we read. Each time we find different toys to find. Also, we like to find our toys.

If we wanted to push the point home for the older child we might talk about Spencer’s predicament.. Which toys to give up and why it’s so hard? It’s a good opportunity to start the conversation about your own toys; giving toys away or throwing old ones away. Or you might just want the story to be the story and leave the message to ring through.

This picture book is a fun read with a good message. The pictures engage my preschooler to flip through and try and tell the story himself.

Love book reviews? You should listen to Just one more book?

 Hear my review of  Too many toys

Have you read any other David Shannon books? What’s your family favourite book right now? Would love to hear.