Too Many Toys

Reading Too Many Toys this week pretty much epitomizes how parents, caregivers, and baby sitters are feeling about now.  The holidays have passed and with them [probably] came a whole slew of toys for your children.  I have for a couple years asked family and friends to not give toys but rather give art supplies, crafts, books, or experiences; for the most part they listened and the girls have gone to the Crayola Factory, painted, tried sewing, painted, covered my house in those cloth bands from the looming thing, and painted some more!  Even with them cutting down on the amount of toys coming in, we still have toys all over the house and David Shannon really does a great job in his book on explaining this issue, and as I said before it really does epitomize life with kids when it comes to toys.  It's a book we can all laugh at and relate to.

Too Many Toys was written and illustrated by David Shannon, who has written and illustrated many wonderful children's books including David Goes To School which I share with you in Kindergarten here we come.

I love how David has such an aptitude for getting inside the mind of a child and at the same time portraying the frustration of a parent.  I admire this talent he has for juggling both sides of the story and Shannon does it flawlessly so that when you're done reading the book both parent and child can sit there and have a better understanding of each other.

Spencer is the main character in the book, a little boy who has as the title says Too Many Toys, they all all over the house, and outside it as well.  I love the way the words can stand alone in the book and paint their own picture in your mind of all of the different toys Spencer has and how he plays with them.

"He had puzzles, board games, and talking books that fueled his mind...and loud, jumpy frenzied video games that didn't."

I love that line, and I think each educator probably has it highlighted and makes sure to emphasize  it when they read the book.

After describing all the different toys and how they are spewing from all parts of the house Shannon goes on to tell how we've reached this predicament as a society.  The way David Shannon writes about Spencer getting toys from everyone and for everything makes you as a parent stop and think about why this is the way it is now.  It was a light bulb going on for me, why is it that little rinky-dink toys are given out everywhere?  Why did doctors, dentist, and even schools stop with just stickers and now there's prize boxes with cheap toys that are taken home?  I remember as a kid being super happy with getting a sticker?  Growing up I use to love getting a kids meal from McDonald's (as an adult this makes me cringe) but I was always so excited for the toy, and many of them are hanging on my Christmas tree or still "alive" in good condition at my great grandma's and are played with because they were higher quality toys that didn't break.  Now on the rare occasion that we eat out the toys are broken before we get back home.  Then we go to fairs and all sorts of activities and again the kids are getting prizes which are cheap plastic toys 90% of the time that they have to have in the moment and then never play with again or are broken.  I'd much rather not get all the small junk and have one good high quality toy that will last a long time.

I am not against having toys, toys are important for children to have developmentally.  And many toys are educational.  However there are many toys that don't require the use of imagination and as I just went on about are cheap, break, and don't hardly get played with.  One example I can give you from a training I did about toys that encourage children to use their imagination or block them from opening their minds and thinking independently are dolls.  Dolls are a wonderful toy and have many benefits of teaching empathy, care-giving, and pretend play; that is if the doll is what many would call "plain" or "old-fashion."  If the doll walks, talks, crawls, eats, and some even poop then that is taking away from the child using their own mind to pretend that the doll is doing those things.  If the doll talks "I'm hungry," then the child doesn't make up their own conversation with the doll where if the doll doesn't the child could pretend the doll is saying, "It's hot outside, let's go for some ice cream!" and then the child is going to act out going to an ice cream stand and going over their choices and engage more.


Having too many toys is also a hazard!  David illustrates the hazards of toys very well, stepping on them, tripping, and just the overall clutter of them.  In the book Spencer's mom finally has had enough of all of the toys and Spencer and her argue over each toy and why he should get rid of it and why he doesn't want to.  This is the part of the book that you really see each reason and the emotions of going through all the toys.  It's funny and relatable.

I love how rich the vocabulary is throughout the book.  Frenzied, convoy, catastrophe, haggled.  The book is full of adjectives and adverbs that really paint wonderful pictures in your mind of all the toys.  David Shannon brings to life all the toys in this house not only with his words but in the colorful and detailed illustrations.  The illustrations drive home the point of there are way too many toys.  I love how many classic toys are hidden in the illustrations.  Fun game to play throughout the book?  I SPY!  Read the book through first but if you're reading this in a waiting room or just want to play a game and really have your kids engaging turn to a page and say "I spy, with my little eye...a toy solider...fake teeth...something red with a ladder, an animal that lives in Antarctica..." The possibilities for a game of I SPY are endless.  I love how many different toys Shannon thought of to include in the illustrations.  Then there are the facial expression that are exaggerated and perfect!  The dad stepping on a LEGO, the mom yelling, the big puppy dog eyes of the boy pleading to keep his toys!  They are great!

While the whole book is fantastic my favorite part that makes you laugh, shake your head, and mutter go figure, is the surprise on the last page of "the best toy EVER!"   Any guesses on what the best toy ever is?

A BOX!  

Again this drives home the point of open-ended toys.  Ones that are the simplest are often the best because they can become anything.  I shared last year about the book NOT A BOX and how much kids love large empty boxes.  Still not convinced that a box is the best toy ever?  Check out this article published December 3, 2018 about how a cardboard box is better than high tech toys according to a group of doctors.

If you are looking for a good funny book to share at bedtime, or to help get your kids to get rid of some of their old toys pick up a copy of Too Many Toys.  It's a great story on it's own, and even better if you are trying to get your kids to make room for the new toys they just got, if you're doing some spring cleaning, or just need them to unclutter their room some.



If you are reading this book to get your kids in the mindset of letting go of toys, I just want to wish you Good Luck! May your nerves be up for the task and your bartering skill be enough, but I do hope and think this book will help.

Happy Reading!