As the holiday shopping season and its attendant financial panic draw near, let us all reflect on the greatness of David Shannon's new book Too Many Toys, which finds the young character Spencer surrounded by more toys than he can play with in three lifetimes. (Sound familiar?) The last straw comes when Mom and Dad can't walk for fear of stepping on another piece of plastic junk, and Spencer is forced to make some hard decisions. He fills a carton to overflowing but in the end realizes he'd rather have this plain old box than any new store-bought toys -- and so our little hero learns the very grown-up joy of living simply.
$16.99 (with 20% off if you buy online) from Barnes & Noble.
