Spy toys by Mark Powers

Ill. by Tim Wesson. Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN 9781408870860
(Age: 7-9) Spy toys is an action-adventure story in which a cast of misfit creatures, a doll, a teddy bear and robot rabbit, join forces to protect the prime minister's son. Along the way, there is pandemonium, with daring rescues, giant snowballs, slapstick antics, an evil elephant and a Mayonnaise Bomb to defuse.
Snaztacular Ultrafun is the world's largest toy company with an amazing range of high quality toys, each fitted with 'a tiny computerised brain and a unique personality.' Poor Dan a Snugaliffic Cuddlestar bear is rejected because of a faulty chip that makes him so strong he can crush a car (not a child). He teams up with cast-off Arabella, a Loadsasmiles Sunshine Doll that fails because of her short temper and her inability to interact with children. The mysterious Auntie Roz recruits Dan, Arabella and Flax a custom-made police robot rabbit to become THE SPY TOYS ready to fight crime.
Mark Powers' junior novel is fast-paced, humorous, with eccentric villains and strange situations. Tim Wesson's over-the-top comical illustrations compliment the action and bring the strange characters to life. The McBiff triplets are suitably scary and so is Rusty Flumptrunk the humanoid elephant.
Rhyllis Bignell