A group of toys, left out at night for the first time, begins to be afraid but the WonderDoll distracts them by weaving a story of lost toys, space travel, and a strange alien. - (Baker & Taylor)

A group of toys, left outside in the garden at night for the very first time, begins to feel afraid but the WonderDoll distracts them by weaving a story of lost toys, space travel and a strange alien. - (Baker & Taylor)

A very silly (not-too-scary) story about losing a beloved toy.

That summer night, the toys were left outside. . . . For the very first time, the Wonderdoll, the helpful wind-up robot, the thoughtful green dinosaur, and the rest of their plucky gang lie in the grass, gazing up at the stars. But one star seems brighter than the rest. As it grows bigger and bigger, the toys realize it may not be a star at all! Soon they're venturing into the unknown, traveling by spaceship, where they meet a lonely alien in need of help, and some friends. 

   From ever-inventive, award-winning author-illustrator Mini Grey comes a hilarious and heartfelt new adventure: a motley group of toys left outside in the garden become true friends and brave heroes--in space! - (Random House, Inc.)

MINI GREY is the creator of the Boston Globe-Horn Book award-winning picture book Traction Man Is Here! as well as Traction Man Meets TurboDog and Traction Man and the Beach Odyssey. Collectively, the three Traction Man books have received 15 starred reviews. Her brilliant, quirky humor can also be seen in Three by the Sea, The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon, and Ginger Bear. - (Random House, Inc.)

Booklist Reviews

This meta bedtime story begins with a group of toys left in the backyard overnight. "And, for the very first time . . . the toys saw THIS"—with this being the starry night sky. Curious about the stars, the toys convince WonderDoll (a superhero-Barbie hybrid) to tell them a story. So she does, and it has the rhythm of a genuine make-it-up-as-you-go-along bedside tale. One star is a UFO, see, and it tractor beams up some toys just like them because the alien pilot, named Hoctopize (why not?), is searching for his own special lost toy and has been chucking the other ones he finds in the Room of a Thousand Lost Toys. Understandably, the plot never turns into much, with most of the chuckles coming from the toys in the backyard, who, just like a kid in bed, guide the story with comments: "The Hoctopize MUST send those Thousand Toys BACK!" Juggling dual locations, the illustrations are a bit chaotic. But if you know a Toy Story fan, this ought to scratch that popular itch. Copyright 2012 Booklist Reviews.

Horn Book Guide Reviews

One evening, a little boy leaves his toys outside on the lawn, where they're a bit freaked out by the prospect of an outdoor overnighter. "We need someone to tell us a story," says Blue Rabbit, and maternal WonderDoll takes up the challenge. In Grey's mixed-media illustrations--witty, inventive, and dynamic as ever--playful what-really-happened? elements bring meta-style storytelling into a child's realm of experience.

Horn Book Magazine Reviews

One evening, a little boy leaves his toys outside on the lawn. Pink Horse, Small Sheep, Cowboy, Blue Rabbit, Dinosaur, Robot, and WonderDoll are amazed to see stars for the first time; they're also a bit freaked out by the prospect of an outdoor overnighter. "We need someone to tell us a story," says Blue Rabbit, and maternal WonderDoll takes up the challenge. She tells of seven toys (the same ones as in this book) being beamed aboard a spaceship by the Hoctopize, a lonely alien searching for its missing stuffed animal. In its search, the creature has stolen a thousand toys belonging to Earth children, and WonderDoll and company must convince the Hoctopize to return them. That task completed, now Pink Horse, Small Sheep, Cowboy, Blue Rabbit, Dinosaur, Robot, and WonderDoll must console the Hoctopize, still glum about its own misplaced Cuddles. They throw a cheer-up party, then head back home before their boy can wake up to find them missing. "But what about the story?" "Does the Hoctopize find its Cuddles?" "Will there be a happy ending?" the toys ask. "Of course," WonderDoll reassures everyone, her glance drawing readers' attention to a nearby bush and the cuddly-looking creature half-hidden beneath it. As is characteristic of Grey's mixed-media illustrations -- witty, inventive, and dynamic as ever -- careful looking is rewarded (Cuddles was there the whole time!), and the playful and entertaining what-really-happened? elements bring meta-style storytelling into a young child's realm of experience. elissa gershowitz

Kirkus Reviews

Keenly intelligent artwork teeters on the delicious borderline of scariness in a nighttime toy adventure. A boy runs off the page. "That summer night, for the first time, the toys were left outside." In the green grass lie seven small playthings. The sky darkens; stars emerge. The toys are quiet, then fretful and panicky--so WonderDoll tells a story. In it, a spaceship beams them all upward. How disconcerting! The alien "probably likes to eat pink felt!" speculates Pink Horse. "It might drool at the toys!" quivers Dinosaur. "Someone might get their stuffing probed!" worries Small Sheep. But the alien looks like a glove wearing pajamas--and it's sobbing. Hoctopize the alien grieves its own lost snuggle object. The spaceship holds thousands of toys that Hoctopize has collected from gardens all over Earth, seeking its missing Cuddles. Tiny labels catalogue the stolen creatures' origins ("Picnic Table, Front Lawn, 37 Spoon Drift, West Cutlery"). This tale has a heart of gold, while the art uses comic-book sensibility (horizontal and vertical panels; speech bubbles; ever-changing angles) and a savvy aesthetic to prevent any hint of saccharine. Does it matter whether the journey was WonderDoll's invention? Blending edginess and childhood reality (the uniqueness of one's own stuffed toy), this will satisfy many tastes. A preschool sibling to Adam Rex's The True Meaning of Smekday (2007). (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright Kirkus 2013 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

Seven toys, strewn in a grassy yard on a summer night, stare in awe at the starry sky. Among them are a superhero, robot, cowboy, and various animals, and voice balloons suggest their range of personalities. " ‘We need someone to tell us a story!' said the Blue Rabbit. The Wonder-Doll thought for a moment, and then she began." The doll imagines their abduction by an alien who looks "rather like a glove." The Hoctopize is on a mission to find "its Cuddles," a beloved plaything, and the misplaced toys aid in the quest, hopeful that they themselves will not be forgotten long. The toys in the yard peek in from the margins of Grey's comics-influenced pages, offering their opinionated commentary on the WonderDoll's storytelling (the effect is akin to a particularly boisterous preschool story hour), even influencing the direction the tale takes. As in her Traction Man books, Grey plumbs the pathos and humor of carelessly treated playthings. Her double narratives hint at toys' secret lives and the desire, after adventuring, to feel safe—impulses children will easily recognize in themselves. Ages 5–8. (May)

School Library Journal Reviews

K-Gr 2—In this wonderfully offbeat story-within-a-story, a little boy forgets his toys in the garden. Afraid of spending the night outside, the toys ask WonderDoll, leader of the bunch, to tell them a tale as a distraction. WonderDoll spins an exciting yarn about the Hoctopize, an alien who collects abandoned toys aboard his ship while searching for his own lost Cuddles. When the alien beams up WonderDoll and company, captivating adventures commence. The toys help the Hoctopize realize that his captives should be returned home and throw him a party to cheer him up, which lasts until dawn. Clever layouts of the cartoonish but highly expressive illustrations divide the action of WonderDoll's story from the toys' reactions. While WonderDoll's narrative occupies the larger part of the spreads, the toys' hilarious speech-balloon commentary is relegated to a smaller sidebar. This picture book is for the of Grey's previous quirky stories or other animate toy adventures such as the longer Emily Jenkins's Toys Go Out (Random, 2006) or Michael Rosen's Red Ted and the Lost Things (Candlewick, 2009).—Yelena Alekseyeva-Popova, formerly at Chappaqua Library, NY