Book #40: Toys Go Out by Emily Jenkins

This was a very cute read-aloud chapter book that I read with Dane. We both enjoyed it enough that I read multiple chapters each day, and he was begging for more. The book, a seeming knock-off of Toy Story, follows three main toys in their very average day-to-day lives as a toy: Lumphy, a buffalo, Plastic, a ball, and StingRay, a sting ray. Each chapter relates a cute little story about something that happens to them (like Lumphy gets dirty at a picnic and is scared to get washed in the washing machine, or when Plastic gets taken to the beach and almost gets eaten by a dog). The thing that is really cute about this story is the little personalities of the toys and their interactions and conversations with each other. They are very innocent and unaware of the real world, and it makes the story very child-friendly. It isn't as complicated as Toy Story in some ways; they don't seem worried that the Little Girl will discover that they are animate (sometimes I wonder how their adventures go unnoticed, like when the dry-clean-only StingRay gets soaking wet in the bathtub and is still wet when the Little Girls gets home) and they happily roam around the house and do all sorts of things without being discovered at all. I really liked how sweet the story was, and really would like to check out the sequels.