First sentence: There were five of them. And they were waiting....
Premise/plot: A collection of toys sit on a window sill and wait. Most toys are waiting for something specific, but, not all. Some just like looking out the window at anything and everything. There is some sense of companionship among the toys, but, I wouldn't necessarily call this one friendship-themed.
My thoughts: Unique, yes, I think it is. Simple too. But at times, I found it charming and sweet. This is sometimes conveyed by the text of the story. One of my favorite lines is, "When it finally snowed, the puppy was happy. He'd waited a very long time." But I'd say that most of the charm is conveyed by the illustrations. (Both text and illustrations are by Kevin Henkes.) One of my favorite scenes is when the toys are all shown "sleeping" on the sill. And in another scene, the toys are shown huddled together--afraid--because of the storm outside. It is more expressive than you might at first think.
I'd recommend it easily to anyone who enjoys Henkes' work. Is it my personal favorite by him? I'd say no. It is not an action-packed, make-you-laugh-out-loud book to share with children. It is a quieter, subtler read instead. Nice doesn't have to be a bad thing in terms of describing a book.
Text: 4 out of 5
Illustrations: 4 out of 5
Total: 8 out of 10
© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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