Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: toys

  • The Untold Story of Father Christmas

    The Untold Story of Father Christmas

    When you pick up a children’s book which has magical illustrations on the first two pages with the first words read, ‘In olden times, when magic filed the air…….’ you know immediately there is a special treat in store.

    The tale revolves around a master toymaker and his wife, who, even though they have always wanted to have children of their own, never did. The toymaker was known far and wide for his beautiful toys. He would travel to the fairs with a sack over his shoulder, filled with his wonderful toys, which he and his wife had made with love, making the toys very special indeed.

    Each of the pages is filled with gentle, soft illustrations created to delight the heart and add a very special aspect to the traditional story of Father Christmas, which also comes with a gentle reminder that there are times when it is perhaps more joyful to be able to give to those in need or less fortunate, in the time honoured tradition that is truly Christmas.

    The Untold Story of Father Christmas is book that will become a traditional part of any family Christmas and one which should be passed down through the generations to come and absolutely perfect to be read during the day when littles ones, and big one alike, need some perfect quiet time.

     

  • Spy Toys: Out of Control

    Spy Toys: Out of Control

    In the second book in this incredibly action-packed series and fresh from the success of their first mission, our heroes the Spy Toys – Dan the Snugaliffic Cuddlestar bear, Arabella the Loadsasmiles Sunshine Doll and Flax the custom-made police robot rabbit – are ready for their next task.

    This time, the secret code that controls every Snaztacular Ultrafun toy has been stolen and all over the world toys are revolting and turning against the children who own them.  Terrible things are happening that are simply not right. Aunty Ros calls in the heroes of the story to explain their next mission and Arabella, in typical fashion simply gets nasty about the entire thing, thinking it is below her to help out with this mission.  But all that is before the fun begins involving a range of incredible characters, a massive amount of fun and shambles, disaster and bravery and of course a totally ‘out there’ ending.

    Can Arabella disguise herself as a super-sweet little doll in order to find out more from the daughter of Snaztacular’s top scientist? Can Dan and Flax chase down Jade the Jigsaw, the puzzling prime suspect for the robbery? And can they save the day before the mind-controlled toys forget what it means to play nice? Who is really the evil mastermind and can the Toys stop him before he takes over the world!

    Mark Powers Spy Toys Out of Control will delight young readers everywhere and also their parents, if they are allowed to read the story. Courtesy Bloomsbury Children’s

  • One Christmas Wish

    One Christmas Wish

    Based around numerous Christmas stories One Christmas Wish discovers just what can a happen when a wish is granted.

    Theo is home with a babysitter. It is Christmas Eve and he has found an old box well sealed with lots of old Sticky tape. The challenge is to get it open without damaging the box, himself or whatever is hidden inside. When he finally gets it open there are four very old Christmas decorations: a rocking horse, a robin, a tin soldier and an angel.

    He decides even though they are all a bit damaged he would hang them on his Christmas tree and it might make it feel a bit like Christmas. The only gift under the tree is an envelope filled with gift vouchers as it is all his busy parents have had time to buy. They have not even had time to buy a turkey!

    As the evening progresses he looks out of the window and thinks about many things, mainly about the fact that he is very lonely. His Mum and Dad are busy at work, his normal babysitter Mrs Goodyere could not be with him and the new one is asleep in the kitchen.

    He sees a rather strange star crossing the sky; it was blinking red and green and his father had always said when you see a shooting star make a wish. Theo made a very big wish.

    Immediately a rustling noise sounded behind him, which was really creepy, as it was coming from the Christmas tree. When he was brave enough to take a look he saw the robin, the tin soldier, the rocking horse and the Angel trying to get down from the tree.

    And that was when the very, very first piece of Theo’s wish began to come true.

    Katherine Rundell has created a poignant story about love and treasuring all the important aspects of life, as Theo and his band of very unlikely friends set out to make a little bit of a difference in the very best of ways.

    Illustrated by Emily Sutton she adds a rich ‘old fashioned Christmas’ ambience to this lovely Christmas tale at a time of year when magic truly can happen.

    A book which will become a family treasure.

  • The Velveteen Rabbit

    The Velveteen Rabbit

    This book was first published in Great Britain in 1922. It is lovely to see that magic and wonder is still appreciated in today’s world of realism. Hopefully a whole new group of children will be entertained and become thoughtful about issues in the story. For today’s child, a nursery with a Nana may not be the most relevant topic, but the love of a toy and reflection later as to what happened to that toy, will always be relevant. Although this is a story for younger children, it is quite lengthy, and may take a few sittings to complete.

     The story deals with a toy rabbit who is given to a boy as a Christmas present. After a short time of playing with the rabbit, the boy leaves him and plays with other toys. The rabbit is lonely and many of the other toys are unfriendly. A toy horse talks to the rabbit, who wants to know what it is to be REAL. The horse assures him that if the boy plays with him continuously and they become inseparable, he will feel real. One day, the Nana who tidies the nursery, picks up the rabbit and takes him to the boy who is going to bed.

     From that time on the boy and the rabbit spend all day and night together. The rabbit is very happy, and is very loved by the boy. The rabbit gradually becomes shabbier, but no one cares, the rabbit does indeed feel real. After a wonderful time together, the boy becomes ill. The rabbit shares the boy’s bed, and is a great comfort to him. After a long convalescence, the doctor visits and gives orders that all the bedding and toys be burnt, to get rid of the germs from the boy’s illness. The rabbit is devastated, and when in a sack in the garden, he sheds a tear. The tear falls on the ground, and it is here that the magic of the story comes to the fore.

     The ending is so delightful, and credible, that most children will take great comfort knowing what has happened to all their old toys. The language is not compromising and is logical and meaningful. Sentences like, “He longed to become Real, to know what it felt like; and yet the idea of growing shabby and losing his eyes and whiskers was rather sad,” will be understood by young children. As the rabbit accepts his fate, so do we. The illustrations are also delightful, reflecting another time and place, but gentle in colour and support of the story.

    It is so lovely to see this book again for those of us who remembered it a long time ago.