Noddy Toyland Detective Paperback – October 6, 2016

My little Noddy fan loves them. Small sized, fits nicely in the box as a presentation box. Good for little hands.

My son loved the book.

The boxed set arrived on time and is a lovely collection. The downside is that it was very poorly packaged in a thin cardboard sleeve that offered the protection of brown paper. I really dont know why they bothered. So now my "like new" box set has a mangled corner and looks very heavily and obviously used. Such a shame and not what i was hoping to pass on as a gift.

Believe it or not, Noddy in Toyland goes back to 1949 (and the last book of the original series was published in 1963). The concept was, and remains, one of the all-time-greats in children’s publishing, and the bright, primary-colored illustrations have helped sustain innumerable spin-offs.Noddy has not failed to move with the times – far from it – but a complete ‘re-imagining’ for a TV series from Dreamworks still seemed a good idea. Noddy is now a Detective, he wears more closely-fitting clothes (but still predominantly red and blue, and with a bell on his hat) and carries a tablet computer. Bumpy, Noddy’s dog, has also acquired smoother lines; as has Noddy’s friend Big Ears. Noddy’s car – yellow and red, as always – now has a name, Revs.Otherwise, all the characters are new and, frankly, look as if they belong in another movie. They include Smartysaurus, Deltoid, Queen Sparklewings, and no less than three My Little Pony-style ponies, Hoof, Bling and Cloppycorn.But let’s not rush to judgement; let’s read the story. Sadly, there isn’t much to read, and the story amounts to little more than the very briefest of introductions to each of the characters. Worse, in my view, as Noddy proceeds on his mission (to solve a mystery, as you would expect of a Detective), no-one but Smartysaurus has time for him; they all brush him off. Smartysaurus invites Noddy to dance with her – but Noddy gives her the brush-off!The solution to Noddy’s mystery explains why all his ‘friends’ have so little time for him, but meanwhile young readers have been offered half a dozen examples of how to quickly get rid of someone who doesn’t interest them.It’s a large-format book, printed on glossy paper with plenty of color on every page. Maybe it’s one to buy and keep in a drawer in readiness for a day when a child is unwell and can’t go to school – but there are plenty of much more interesting books on the market for times when parents/grandparents and children are feeling well enough to make a bit more effort.