Traction Man Is Here!

This spoof of superhero comics and their ubiquitous action figures is so darn funny it's impossible to get through a first reading without pausing to hold your ribs. But it has a Shrek problem: its best lines zoom straight over kids' heads and target Mom and Dad. This is welcome news if you're weary of countless nights re-reading Pooh or Seuss ad nauseum. But it's tough to explain to a toddler why the sight of a foot-tall plastic toy diving in a sink for the Lost Wreck of the Sieve provokes such snorts and guffaws. Traction Man's a Christmas gift to an unnamed boy, whose imagination turns him loose on unsuspecting household objects. But both meet their match with Granny, who knits the doll a puke-green coverall that fairly screams "dork." Picture the matching bonnet and it's easy to summon similar mortifying moments from your own childhood.

The first night that I read this book to my son, he had to cover the pictures so that I could stop laughing long enough to finish reading it. This book is a scream! If you have ever owned an action figure or a doll like Barbie, you need this book.

Traction Man by Mini Grey is one of the most inventive picture books I've come across, one that celebrates the fantastic inner life of children, where the most mundane objects can become superheroes or villains. Traction Man and his vaguely canine sidekick, Scrubbing Brush rid the world from evil, in a series of comic adventures. But can they overcome the dreaded dorky green romper and matching bonnet? Of course! (Traction Man always saves the day...)

I opened this book in the 'store, flipped to a page and saw an action figure standing on the table (a no-no in my house) before a plate. The text read, "Traction man is guarding some toast." Then I noted that the toast had eyes and mouth set in somewhat querulous look. I laughed aloud and raced to buy this. My 3.5 year old carried this about for days, after. Traction man is original, clever, snarky (read the label on the hoopos that become his medal at the end of the book) and gentle. It's exquisite. Buy several copies, you'll be handing it out at birthday parties for years.

It's funny, but I think we can say that the picture-book-superhero-genre is still in its infancy. There's, "Kapow", of course and "The Adventures of Sparrowboy", but these are stories of ordinary kids being super. Far more difficult, in a way, is a story about an action figure. Now there is no lack of stories where toys take on a life of their own when their owners aren't around. With, "Traction Man Is Here", however, author Mini Grey turns this conceit on its head. The hero of this book may be an action figure like Buzz Lightyear (though he's an entirely different type of toy) but any adventures you read about in this book are from the head of the boy moving Traction Man about. You may not see the kids' hands and Traction Man may appear to move on his own accord, but there is little doubt who the real brains behind the operation is. It makes, oddly enough, for thrilling reading. A boy writes a note to Santa requesting another Traction Man since his old one was involved in what is simply referred to as, "the Terrible Parachute Accident". Santa may not be aware of the boy's request, but his parents are certainly on the ball because Christmas Day brings a brand new bright and shiny Traction Man (complete with Dazzle-Painted Battler Pants). Thus begin our hero's adventures. Each time he appears, his new outfit is lovingly described (as in the sentence, "Traction Man is crawling through the overgrown shrubbery near the Pond, wearing Jungle Pants, Camouflage Vest and Sweaty Bandanna"). This is all well and good up until the moment the family goes to knit-crazy Granny's. Traction Man receives an all-in-one knitted green romper suit and matches bonnet. It's adorable and completely inappropriate for his line of work. Fortunately, Traction Man's quick thinking sidekick Scrubbing Brush finds a way to solve the romper problem and save some spoons in need. Right from the start I recognized that Grey was doing something that few authors remember from their childhood. When I was a kid, any and every inanimate object was fair game for my imaginings. Likewise in this book, Traction Man battles pillows and sponges and befriends a friendly brush as well. As an author, Grey has a real feel for what it's like to be a kid playing with a favorite toy. The book looks like a comic book at all the right points and really does become quite exciting, almost in spite of its low-rent sets. Grey's attention to detail is also stunning. The night the boy gets the present containing Traction Man on his bed you can see an exciting adult foot who's sock has (oh joy) unraveled at the heel. I OWN socks just like that! This probably explains why Granny's so gung ho about knitting more for the family. Toys that do battle or are saved by Traction Man in the course of the tale are visible on the boy's floor right at the book's start. I also loved that his older sister is continually carrying around her own Christmas present: a copy of Practical Woodworking.