Spy Toys

Gr 3–5—Set in an ambiguous future of policebots, genetically engineered cereal mascots, and toys with minds of their own, Powers's action-packed novel starts off at a jog and keeps the pace quick all the way through. Dan, a robotic teddy bear designed to snugly hug neglected children, gets plucked off the assembly line at the Snaztacular Ultrafun factory for possessing a "faulty snuggle chip," a flaw that makes his instinctive cuddling hazardous to children. He's quickly dropped down a chute to the dark underbelly of the factory, a wasteland of faulty and damaged toys. There Dan meets a misanthropic rag doll named Arabella, who helps them escape the factory, where they both fall in with a police-trained robot rabbit named Flax. Soon enough, all three misfits are being roped into a secret mission to protect a senator's son from kidnapping by a maniacal half-elephant. It's quite a lot of plot for a relatively short volume, and Powers sacrifices context in favor of action. But there's so much action—ice cream heists, disguises, downhill ski chases—that it should be an easy stepping stone for young readers who are moving beyond early chapter book series and are used to a fast read.