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SPY TOYS

spy_toys_ya_outofcontrol spy_toys_ya_undercover spy_toys_ya_playtime
 
Full Name: Spy Toys
Nationality: Unknown
Organization: Unknown
Occupation Agency

Creator: Mark Powers
Time Span: 2017 - 2019

ABOUT THE SERIES

Spy Toys is a team of toy agents for the Department of Secret Affairs.

That organization is run by an older looking woman calling herself Auntie Roz. As she tells it, "my job is to prevent horrid things from happening. The horrid blowy-uppy kind of things. Or the horrid 'Oh no, the Crown Jewels have been stolen' king of thing".

The basis behind the existence of this team of really smart and strangely capable thinking toys is: The world's leading toy manufacturer [Snaztacular Ultrafun] gives each toy it creates a tiny, computerized brain and a unique personality making for some seriously awesome toys. But sometimes there's a faulty toy . . ."

We learn a whole lot more in the opening chapter of the first recorded adventure: "Snaztacular Ultrafun's toys were not like the ones made by other companies. They were much cleverer and much more fun. Every toy contained a tiny computerized brain that gave it a personality and allowed it to walk and talk as if it were alive. They were the ultimate playthings: bikes that took you home if you were too tired to pedal, footballs who wanted to be kicked, board games who pieces tidied themselves away once you had finished playing with them, dolls that acted just like real people".

Sounds too good to be real. Unfortunately, as stated a bit earlier, once in a while there is an oops.

Take the leader of the Spy Toys for example. He is a Snugaliffic Cuddlestar, the most advanced teddy bear available. "They could sing lullabies, tell bedtime stories, bring you a glass of milk" and so on. They were most importantly designed for cuddling because they would cuddle back. In the case of our Snugaliffic, named Dan, though, the oops was that the malfunction made him so strong he could crush a car. "You don't know your own strength", he was told. Not good! He was tossed onto the discard stack.

He is joined by Arabella, a Loadsasmiles Sunshine Doll, a ragdoll meant to be the best friend of the girl owning her. Unfortunately, her oops is that "I'm not good with people" because a crossed wire "gives me a really short temper". Best friend dolls are not supposed to dangle their human girl owner by the "ankles out her bedroom window because she looked at me the wrong way". She hates kids!

And there is Flax who looks like a bunny but is really "a custom-made police robot disguised as a rabbit to dig tunnels and secretly gather information from criminals. He does not like doing that, though, and "went AWOL some time ago and has been living wild ever since".

All three were on the lam when they were snatched by Auntie Roz and put to work.

YOUNG ADULT BOOKS

Number of Books:3
First Appearance:2017
Last Appearance:2019

1 Spy Toys Spy Toys
Written by Mark Powers
Copyright: 2017

Subtitled: Playtime Is Over!"
"Dan is a "Snugliffic Cuddlestar" bear--he should be perfect for hugging. But because of a malfunctioning chip, Dan is so strong he could crush a car. Thrown into the rejects pile, he meets Arabella, a "Loadsasmiles Sunshine" doll, who has a very short temper. Soon Dan, Arabella, and Flax (a custom-made police robot rabbit) are recruited by the head of the toy world exactly for what makes them unfit. And their first mission is a doozy: to protect a senator's eight-year-old son from being kidnapped."
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2 Spy Toys: Out of Control! Spy Toys: Out of Control!
Written by Mark Powers
Copyright: 2017

"Fresh from the success of their first mission, our heroes the Spy Toys – Dan the Snugaliffic Cuddlestar Bear, Arabella the Loadsasmiles Sunshine Doll and Flax the custom-made police robot rabbit – are ready for their next task. This time, the secret code that controls every Snaztacular Ultrafun toy has been stolen and all over the world toys are revolting and turning against the children who own them.
Can Arabella disguise herself as a super-sweet little doll in order to spy on the daughter of Snaztacular's top scientist? Can Dan and Flax chase down Jade the Jigsaw, the puzzling prime suspect for the robbery? And can they save the day before the mind-controlled toys forget what it means to play nice?"
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3 Spy Toys: Undercover Spy Toys: Undercover
Written by Mark Powers
Copyright: 2019

"When the world's most famous chocolate factory disappears, it is up to the Spy Toys to find out the truth – and fast! If the chocolate runs out, there could be riots from children everywhere! The Spy Toys are sent undercover into a school where they need to disguise themselves as regular pupils. Could this be their toughest challenge yet? They'll need all their wits about them to defeat this baddie. And one thing is for sure: these kids don't play nice!"
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GAMES

Number of Games:1
First Appearance:2017
Last Appearance:2017

1 Spy Toys: The Game Spy Toys: The Game
Game Type: Video Game
Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing
Copyright: 2017

Based on the Spy Toys book series for youngsters.
• Help Dan the bear avoid the toy factory rejects pile!
• Jump over the obstacles on the conveyor belt – tap the screen to jump
• Use rubber ducks and balls to bounce higher
• Avoid jumping on sharp objects
• Keep going for as long as you can for the highest score!

MY COMMENTS

These three books are designed for young readers between 8-12 years of age, grade levels 3-6. They are not short little ditties, each running around 200 pages but these pages have large print and lots and lots of illustrations.

There is a great deal of humor to these adventures, especially when you consider the three 'agents' are, well, rejects. They have issues. Dan is a sweetheart but tends to break things. Arabella is absolutely no sweetheart but she is resourceful. and Flax is not a toy at all, really.

They are given actual real missions and watching them pull them off despite everything is neat. Well, more neat if you are 8-12 years of age.

GRADE

My Grade: B-

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