I fancy David Shannon sat in a toy room one day, just itching to think up the plot to his next hit book. He started sketching a pile of Legos here, some train tracks there, a purple stuffed squirrel-moose over in the corner. And that got him thinking: There are a lot of toys in this room. Too many toys, in fact. And not soon after, the story of Spencer’s tremendous toy adventure wrote itself.

This short tale is thorough adventure into a child’s universe of toys. Little Spencer is a 7-year-old hoarder whose mom gets finally fed up with his gargantuan collection of toys, making him choose which to keep and which to send away. Spencer feels like he couldn’t possibly part with a single one, until he eventually find something else that will compensate for his loss.

I apprecaited the mother-son exchanges throughout the story, honest and emphatic without the all-too-common disrespect for authority many modern stories convey from their child-protagonists. While Spencer attempts to bargain with his mom over which toys he should keep, it’s an evidence of obedience, albeit a creative version of such.

As usual, Shannon’s artwork is fascinating and worth your time as a parent to peruse. Most certainly your children will enjoy studying each and every page. Perhaps my favorite detail of all was the Bigfoot creeping, in his classic frumpy bounce, out from behind the toy phone. A fantastic touch.

©2016 E.T.

Read More from David Shannon:

• A Bad Case of the Stripes (1998)
• Duck on a Bike (2002)
• Too Many Toys (2008)