Book Review - Oddkins

Oddkins: A Fable for All Ages by Dean R. Koontz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Very cute. It looks like a children's book but it doesn't have as many pictures as your typical children's book and has many more words.

When Issac Bodkins passes away before he can recruit a new "magic" toymaker his toys must make a dangerous journey across town to recruit Colleen Shannon themselves. Lead by Amos the bear, Burl the elephant, Skippy the rabbit, Butterscotch the dog, Patch the cat and Gibbons bravely set out. But not only do they have to overcome the weather, mean dogs and ally cats they also have to fight against the evil toys made by the previous toymaker.

Victor Bodkins never cared about anything but money, but when he sees the toys are alive a new world opens to him and he sets out to follow them. When Nick Jagg (who hopes to buy the toy shop and make evil toys) offers him a lot of money he turns him down and throws in his lot with the good toys, who have been grievously harmed by the evil toys.

When they finally reach Mrs Shannon's shop she is able to patch all the toys up except Amos who appears to be dead, but Butterscotch with her loving heart and wisdom hits upon using stuffing from herself and the other friends (like a transfusion) to bring him back to life.

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Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

While Emily Dickinson was extremely prolific as a poet and regularly enclosed poems in letters to friends, she was not publicly recognized during her lifetime. The first volume of her work was published posthumously in 1890 and the last in 1955. She died in Amherst in 1886.

Two Butterflies went out at Noon— (533)  by Emily Dickinson   Two Butterflies went out at Noon— And waltzed above a Farm— Then stepped straight through the Firmament And rested on a Beam— And then—together bore away Upon a shining Sea— Though never yet, in any Port— Their coming mentioned—be— If spoken by the distant Bird— If met in Ether Sea By Frigate, or by Merchantman— No notice—was—to me—