Too Many Toys!

PreS-Gr 2—This book addresses a common childhood dilemma—how many toys are too many? As a baby, Lulu receives a soft teddy bear named Jupiter. As the years go by, she continues to accumulate toys, but Jupiter remains her favorite. Lulu tries to include all her toys as she goes through her day, but the sheer number makes things hectic. In Lulu's bedroom, the toys climb up her shelves, skateboard across her floor, and take up most of the bed, leaving little room for her and Jupiter. Lulu quickly comes to the conclusion that she just has too many toys and comes up with a plan to deal with her problem. Detailed ink and watercolor illustrations depict crowds of playthings—almost exclusively dolls and stuffed animals—surrounding Lulu as she eats breakfast, watches TV, and takes a bath. It is strange that there are no parents to be seen at Christmas or birthday parties, but the fact that Lulu makes her own choice about what to do with her abundance of toys is refreshing, if a bit unrealistic. Though some kids will enjoy studying the detail in each of the illustrations, David Shannon's book by the same title (Scholastic, 2008) is a better choice.