Toys Go Out by Emily Jenkins
1. Why is the book called Toys Go Out?
2. Who was your favorite character and why?
3. How would you describe each character’s personality?
a. Lumphy gets anxious and has an upset stomach (a buffalo)
b. Stingray is insecure and a know it all (a girl)
c. Plastic is a kind mother figure who always has a comforting word – Plastic
seems to have the most depth and feeling and is most adult like (a ball)
d. TukTuk is always there to help (a towel)
e. Frank (the washing machine)
f. Dryer
4. What did you like best and least about the book?
5. What were the themes of this book? (Friendship, fear, love, jealousy, bravery,
forgiveness)
6. Were there any words you did not know?
a. Ilk – type or kind
b. Clover – a small plant
c. Shorn – to cut
d. Tundra – a treeless plain
e. Disarray – confusion or disorder
f. Habitat – the place where something normally lives or grows
g. Cycle – something that repeats
h. Agitation – a disturbance
i. Pinata – a decorated container filled with candy
j. Nosegay – a small bouquet of flowers
k. Chamomile – a plant used for tea
7. Did you ever want your toys to come alive?
8. Do you have a favorite toy now or when you were younger? What was it and why?
9. Was this book believable? Could you suspend your sense of reality?
10. Can you describe what a wet bathing suit smells like?
11. Plastic can’t find any pictures that look like her. Feeling very confused about her
identity, she searches the dictionary for help. This only tells her what plastic is used
for. TukTuk, the yellow bath towel, comes to her rescue by revealing exactly what
she is. A round, red, bouncy rubber ball! Can youDescribe yourself using physical
characteristics. Do you resemble others in your family?
12. Lumphy says on the way home from school that when he knows where he is going
traveling isn’t so bad. Do you feel this way?
13. What is the difference between a fact and the truth?
a. A fact is something that exists or is present in reality. It can be verified.
b. A truth is what a person has come to believe.
14. What makes someone a best friend? Can there be different kinds of best friends?
15. Do you think the Little Girl loves one toy more than the others? Why or why not?
16. Lumphy is afraid of the washing machine and comes to love it. Talk about a time
when you had to face your fears. What were you afraid of and how did you conquer
that fear? Did anyone help you make it through? It seemed to help for Lumphy to
know what was going to happen? Is that true for you?
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17. What are subliminal messages? Can you think of any that people try to give you? Or
which you give to them? Did it work in this case?
18. Why do you think Stingray decided to use them to help Lumphy?
19. Why did the buffalo want so badly to sleep on the bed? Why wasn't it as wonderful
as he thought it would be?
20. Plastic questions her own identity and where she fits into her world? Does a name
define who you are? How does TukTuk help her to be comfortable with herself?
21. Why do you think Plastic is able to save herself on the beach?
22. Why do you think Stingray acts the way she does? What do you think of her trying
to float in the bathtub? Why did she feel so badly about herself? Did she learn
anything and if so what?
23. Why is it so important for Stingray to be included in the birthday celebration and to
know that he is loved most of all? Do you ever feel this way?
24. What do you think it means to be grown-up? Is there more than one way to define
it? What things do grown-ups do that children don’t? (pg. 102)
25. As you saw with the toys, sometimes it is difficult to find the “right” birthday
present. What was the best birthday present that you ever received? (It was
Lumphy’s idea to give themselves to her).
26. What was the best birthday present you have ever given?
Activity:
Onomatopoeia
Toys Go Out is filled with onomatopoeias! Discuss the definition of onomatopoeia—a
word that imitates the sounds associated with an object or action. Brainstorm
examples together such as zoom, zip, boom, etc. Then send your students on an
onomatopoeia scavenger hunt. Each student should look through their book and find
as many onomatopoeias as they can, recording them on piece of paper. Ask students to
read the words they found aloud and award a prize to the one who found the most!
Bring a small toy for each student and volunteer and ask each to describe “her” toy’s
personality as she imagines it.
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