The Toymaker by Jeremy DeQuidt

De Quidt, Jeremy The Toymaker, 356 pgs.  David Fickling Books, 2010.   $16.99.  Language – G, 1 swear, 0 F’s.  Sexual Content – G.  Violence – PG.   Setting:  A mysterious land far away, a long time ago.   This book starts out with a toymaker trying to figure out a way to keep toys from running down.  He discovers that he can use the hearts of animals in the toys.  I thought that this book was going to be full of blood and gruesome action…not so…after the first chapter the story follows young Mathias and his friend Katta, as they escape from the evil Dr. Leiter and gain the help of Koenig the woodsman.  Koenig helps them discover the secret that Mathias’s grandfather gave him before his death.  The adventure and excitement the characters go through will keep the reader hooked until the end.  However, I felt that there were too many unanswered questions and the ending was disappointing and depressing.  MS-HS ADVISABLE.  Reviewer Jim Moon, Middle School Librarian