Oddkins
A Fable for All Ages

Dean Koontz
Phil Parks, Illustrator

1/30/2007

The Oddkins are special toys. Their creator, Uncle Isaac Bodkins, made them all with magic that brings them to life. They are meant for special children who need help, a listening, and a sympathetic tongue. Each Oddkins has a mission to help some child in trouble through a rough time in his or her life. Uncle Isaac knew he was dying and told his toy bear Amos who the next magic toy maker should be. But Uncle Isaac died before he could contact the lady in the city and offer her the job.

Now Amos and five other Oddkins have to leave their small toy shop in the country, travel to the city, and find Colleen Shannon. They know they have to hurry, because the evil toys are coming up from the subbasement. These toys were made by the toy maker before Uncle Isaac. Their life mission is to hurt children and spread evil in the world. Their current mission is to stop the Oddkins so the man appointed by their Master can purchase the land and take over the toy shop.

The subtitle to this book is A Fable for All Ages. And it is. The illustrations are bright and eye catching. Phil Parks wove Dean Koontz's descriptions into appealing drawings. Or did Koontz take Parks' pictures and weave a wonderful tale around them?

The lines are very distinct in this good versus evil tale.The hero toys are true blue and the bad toys are shivery evil. This books will appeal to older children. Since I don't work with children, I can't give a good age range, but the child would have to be a fairly accomplished reader to read this on his or her own. But it could be a good book to read aloud as well. I also recommend this to adults who enjoyed fairy tales as a kid or who still love a fantasy story.

But Oddkins is out of print. Check this book at . Then you can look for it at your library or buy it used. I happened on it accidentally while browsing my library shelves for something else. I'm glad I did.