{My thoughts} – Grumbolt isn’t your ordinary toy. He is a stuffed critter that was created out of an advanced sewing pattern that ended up turning into an awkward project result. Grumbolt didn’t look like the pattern he was meant to look like and because of that the girl that had created him by following the pattern had tossed him into the trash. She didn’t want a stuffed critter that didn’t look anything like the package had claimed it should.

Grumbolt ends up going on an adventure and trying to find out who or what he is. In the middle of that adventure he meets some other discarded toys that help him to find his way to the Toy Academy. The Toy Academy is suppose to help and teach toys the things that they need to know in order to be successful toys for children.

While he is attending the Toy Academy some questionable things start to take place. These things cause Grumbolt and everyone else to question many of the other students. If you’d like to know what happens you’ll need to read the book.

I found this book to be a quick and fun read. I think that any child could fall in love with the character of Grumbolt, because he is just a lovable character in my opinion. If you have a child that enjoys movies like the Toy Story Series, I am sure they will fall fastly in love with this book series. ( )

Grumbolt is a plush sew toy who is immediately thrown in the trash because the pattern resulted in a lopsided creature with two different sized arms, two kinds of ears, and an oversized head. He quickly recovers from this rejection when he meets Omnibus Squared (a Transformer-inspired toy) who takes him to Toy Academy where he'll learn how to become the best toy he can be and be paired up with the perfect child for him.

This is a light and sweet story. There isn't a ton of substance, although there is a *little* bit of moralizing about being yourself, true friendship, and doing the right thing.

The "what do my toys do when I'm not home" storyline has been done before, but kids always enjoy it and this is a slightly different version of that. The fantasy world doesn't seem to have too many specific rules, and the toys are mostly knock-offs of real-world toys (e.g., "Margie," who is clearly a Barbie stand-in).

There are quite a number of funny bits, especially the puns, that I enjoyed but I'm not sure if some of them would actually be a bit over the heads of the target audience of children. Numerous black-and-white illustrations bring everything to life and break up the text.

Overall, this is a fun and entertaining read for kids in the upper elementary and middle grades. It is clearly the start of a new series, with some questions lingering at the end of this story. ( )