Mini Grey's third clever, funny and action-packed book about Traction Man once again demonstrates her (and the action figure's) staying power.
Purple endpapers introduce "fully posable" Beach Time Brenda and the full-size Brenda Bucket that you get "absolutely free" with purchase, hinting at the roles they will play. Grey gets all the details just right: the picnic on the beach, Granny and her "new Young Pet called Truffles," and a child's astonishment at the sea, as observed by Traction Man: "Look at that, Scrubbing Brush--it must be the Wide Ocean!... BIG AND SPARKLY." An aerial view of the beach gives readers a layout of the alcove where Granny sits with Truffles under an umbrella, a girl reads a book next to her doll (that looks just like Brenda), and the boy who carried Traction Man to the beach now places him in "the secret crevices of the Rockpool." The adventures reach a crescendo when Granny's puppy takes an interest in the toy hero ("Truffles must think Traction Man is some sort of bone"). Traction Man and Scrubbing Brush get swept out to sea, the Brenda Bucket factors in, as does a sand castle the girl and her dolls have been making. Children will enjoy charting the toys' progress--while the distraught boy can't. A redeeming act by Truffles saves the day.
Once again Grey masters the child's voice at play, evoking the joy of creating castles of sand and imagining the intellectual life of toys. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness