Traction Man Is Here!

by Mini Grey

Overview

Traction Man—wearing combat boots, battle pants, and his warfare shirt—comes in a box, but very quickly finds the way into the imagination of his lucky boy owner. This superhero searches for the Lost Wreck of the Sieve as the boy makes a game of doing the dishes, and later in the bathtub, he conquers the Mysterious Toes that are stealing his pet, the brave little Scrubbing Brush. These are just a few of the action-packed adventures played out by the boy and his new toy that may not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but can vanquish all manner of villains lurking around the house. Mini Grey’s story in words and pictures is an irresistible invitation to the private world of a child’s play.

Praise for The Very Smart Pea and the Princess-to-Be:

“A rib-tickling U.S. debut for Grey, with plenty of sight gags to complement the chatty narrative.”—Kirkus Reviews

“The Very Smart Pea and the Princess-to-Be delivers an entertaining spin and a great deal of visual wit.”—The Horn Book

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780307931115
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	06/12/2012
Series:	Traction Man , #1
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD630L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

MINI GREY is the creator of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award-winning picture book Traction Man Is Here! and its sequel, Traction Man Meets Turbodog. The books received five and six starred reviews, respectively. Quirky, off-the-wall humor can also be seen in Three by the Sea, The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon, Ginger Bear, and Jim, Who Ran Away from His Nurse and Was Eaten by a Lion.

Editorial Reviews

Meet Traction Man, an action figure who takes young readers on an uproarious adventure within a little boy's imagination. In a dazzling intersection of the real and imagined, the toy teams up with his owner to wash dishes, for example: "Traction Man is diving in the foamy waters of the Sink...He is searching for the Lost Wreck of the Sieve." Our hero must escape the clutches of a jellyfish-shaped "Poisonous Dishcloth" and other treacherous household items. Grey's view of the world from a 5-year-old boy's perspective is dead-on, and the snappy, comic-book-style illustrations are a hoot. (ages 4 to 6)
Child magazine's Best Children's Book Awards 2005

A cluttered house, lovingly rendered in comic-book panels by Grey (The Very Smart Pea and the Princess-to-Be), provides a perilous landscape for the titular square-jawed action figure. Readers infer Traction Man's origins from a "Dear Santa" letter on the title page ("I expect you know about what happened to my old Traction Man and the Terrible Parachute Accident") and a gift-box on a sleeping boy's bed. The new Traction Man, replete with special outfits, soon meets trouble in a flowerbed and among dirty dishes: "Traction Man is diving in the foamy waters of the Sink (wearing his Sub-Aqua Suit....) Oh, no! This Poisonous Dishcloth will envelop Traction Man and suffocate him!" Pursued by the glaring, squidlike Dishcloth, Traction Man is pulled to safety by a "brave little Scrubbing Brush," portrayed as a doglike sidekick with bristles for feet. Brown-paper thought balloons with italic type indicate the real-time story line; "I think it's someone's bathtime..." signals the hero's encounter with the Mysterious Toes, which he tickles into submission. Artful watercolor panels alternate with full-page compositions, and the keyed-up narrative is printed on torn graph-paper scraps for a casual, homemade effect. Grey sets the events on a damp English Christmas, but the holiday takes the back seat to the boy's implied stage-managing of Traction Man and transformation of ordinary objects. Will Traction Man rescue the quivering Cupcake from the villainous Doctor Sock? Stay tuned. Ages 4-8. (Apr.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

PreS-Gr 2-This imaginative and very funny romp through the fantasy play of a young boy features his newly acquired action figure. Square-jawed and equipped with combat boots, scuba gear, space suit, and camouflage, Traction Man overcomes evil pillows, dastardly brooms, a poisonous dishcloth, and a wicked spade. But he and his little scrub-brush pet seem to be no match for Granny, who presents the action figure with a nerdy knitted green romper suit and bonnet. The evil-doers laugh at his silly get-up until Scrubbing Brush unravels the yarn to help Traction Man save a clutch of hapless spoons and he is once more the heroic figure. The angular, full-color art sweeps across the pages and perfectly animates the antics of Traction Man and his enemies. Grey has a way of exactly catching the nuances of a child's ability to turn even the most common object into a friend or looming foe in the never-ending battle between good and evil. This fresh, funny hero and Grey's celebration of a child's imagination definitely have traction.-Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha's Public Library, WI Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Traction Man is ready for anything-but can he overcome the gift of an all-in-one knitted green romper suit with matching bonnet? Traction Man is most definitely an action figure, NOT a doll: His accessories include a sub-aqua suit, a space suit, a warfare shirt and a deep-sea diving suit. As narrated by the little boy who receives him for Christmas, his life is one adventure after another, but Granny's gift of the odious all-in-one knitted green romper suit with matching bonnet is almost too much for this doughty hero, until faithful companion Scrubbing Brush leads him to an ingenious solution. The intentionally overwrought voice-over is just exactly right, as are the comic-book style panels and the impossibly square-jawed hero. Occasional full-bleed spreads place Traction Man in his context with his owner (and parental admonishments occasionally and appropriately intrude), but for the most part, he and Scrubbing Brush are allowed the liberty to develop fully in their own right, their owner's imagination giving them all the life their readers will want. An absolutely, hilariously, dead-on perfect celebration of the relationship between child and toy. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews