To the Stars and Beyond: My Virtual Bookshelf

Traction Man and the Beach Odyssey

Author: Mini Grey

Illustrator: Mini Grey

Published: In 2011 by Alfred A. Knopf

ISBN: 978-0375869525

Synopsis:

The brave action figure Traction Man and his faithful pet Scrubbing Brush, along with their young owner, set off to face the beach in search of new daring adventures. They explore rockpool caves, are engulfed by a colossal wave and find themselves transport via Brenda Bucket to a strange sand palace. Separated from their owner, Traction Man and Scrubbing Brush find themselves trapped by some very nice Beachtime Brenda Dollies. Will they escape? Take a look at this entertaining story to find out!

My Reaction:

The first time I tried to read this book I was really confused. It took me a while to figure out how it worked. There are three different voices used to narrate the story --none of which is directly labeled. Eventually I came to understand why. As you read this book you are really reading the story of Traction Man and Scrubbing Brush as they are played with by their owner. This results in two separate story lines occurring simultaneously. First there is the imaginary world of Traction Man and Scrubbing Brush and then there is the real world of the young boy who owns them. Unfortunately, I didn't realize this until I was halfway through the book, so I missed out on the most important aspect of it. It is written to capture the rapid ebb and flow of children's imaginary play as well as the seemingly epic nature of it! This is why there are three voices in the story. First, we have the movie trailer narrator updating us on Traction Man's risky whereabouts. Then, we have Traction Man's dialogue with Scrubbing Brush as they bravely adventure. Finally we have the boy and his parents' dialogue during the boy's search for his beloved Traction Man after loosing him in the sea. This last voice is key to making the reader understand that the adventures of Traction Man are driven by the boys play and NOT the fantastical journeys of a living toy. Unfortunately, this moment doesn't occur until later in the book, causing me to almost entirely miss this aspect.

Understanding the story's narration is made more difficult by Mini Grey's decision to draw attention to the narration by placing it on a graph paper background that appears to have been glued on top of the illustrations. This directed attention toward the fragmented story narration and drew attention away from the vibrant and informative illustrations. Ultimately, I found the narration distracting and difficult to differentiate. Putting all of the narration on the same background made me think that the story would flow in chronological order. But in reality it was written more in the style of a comic book, where there is an over arching narration and then more detailed and not directly connected dialogue. I wish Mini Grey had attempted to differentiate the levels of narration a little bit more.
However, overall I really loved this book! Once I understood how it was meant to be read I found it thoroughly enjoyable. It's definitely a book I can see young boys enjoying over and over again because it really captures the pace of imaginative play. I only wish I had started with Mini Grey's first book, Traction Man is Here!, because I might not have encountered any of the issues I did if I was already familiar with the characters and Mini Grey's writing style.