posted on 30 Oct 2019

A Most Peculiar Toy Factory by Alex Bell, illustrated by Nan Lawson

The popularity amongst young readers of Roald Dahl, Lemony Snicket, Ransom Riggs, Susan Cooper, Alan Garner and others of a similar ilk goes to exemplify one universal truth – that children love a bit of darkness mixed into their reading fare. A touch of the supernatural, a bit of bad behaviour, things not quite being what they should be, draws them like moths to a flame – just as long as the writer obeys the golden rule that everything turns out well, or as well as could be expected, in the end.

Alex Bell clearly embraces this tradition in her story of teddy bears gone rogue, A Most Peculiar Toy Factory. As the publisher, Barrington Stoke tells us in their back cover blurb:

“Shadows of teddy bears flit across windows. Dolls whisper behind closed doors. Something has gone very wrong at Hoggle's Happy Toys. But five years after shutting its doors, the toy factory is opening again, and Tess Pipps has found herself a job there. As she and her siblings start their first day of work, they are about to discover what dark secrets are lurking inside the factory's walls ...” 

But this taster only gives you a glimpse into the shady world of Hoggle’s Happy Toys – because happy they aren’t! Ten year old Tess, along with her young brothers and sisters find themselves recruited by the Willie Wonka-esque Marmaduke J. Hoggle to help him re-open the toy factory after it had closed under rather mysterious circumstances years earlier. They aren’t happy about it but without their earnings they risk losing the family farm and all the chocolate milk producing cows that live there.

Is the factory really a place to be feared? Are the toys cursed and dangerous or is all that just gossip and speculation? Maybe, but why does Marmaduke Hoggle only want children to work there and why are adults all turned away?

It’s important that I don’t give away any of the mystery before you’ve had a chance to read it but I can tell you that you are going to encounter some very frightened toys, a green goblin and some teddy bears with very dubious intensions.

This hugely enjoyable story is delightfully enhanced by the black and white drawings of the US based illustrator, Nan Lawson. Who would have imagined that it would be possible to create an evil looking teddy bear peeping at you from around the edges of the pages?

The book comes from Barrington Stoke in their ‘super readable’ series and is guided for readers of 8+. There’s going to be plenty of adults who will enjoy this one too!

 

Terry Potter

October 2019