Traction Man is Here!

In this immensely entertaining picture-book from English children's author and artist Mini Grey, a young boy receives a new Traction Man hero-figure for Christmas, and proceeds to put him through his paces, in a variety of imaginary play scenarios. From scuba diving in the sink to crawling through the "jungle" near the pond, Traction Man is always triumphant, and always suitably dressed for the job! Then he is confronted with the green knitted romper suit that Granny has made for him. Can a super-hero be a super-hero, in such a get-up? Fortunately for Traction Man, his reliable sidekick, Scrubbing Brush, comes to the rescue...

Chosen as one of our December selections, over in The Picture-Book Club to which I belong, where our theme this show more month is toys, Traction Man Is Here! is a hilarious tale of a boy and his toy, and the adventures they have together. Although the boy is often out of the picture, it is clear that it is he, and not Traction Man, who is directing the action, making the resolution of the green romper suit issue all the more humorous. With bright, appealing artwork, and an engaging story that emphasizes the boy's imagination - I particularly liked the Poisonous Dishcloth monster, and the Scrubbing Brush dog - this is a book that young kids with a sense of humor, and a fondness for imaginary play will appreciate! show less

Unfortunately, this is everything that I believe is wrong with children's books. It's sexist, presents hints of violence (war clothes, violent enemies, fighting), and presses existing dangerous stereotypes. There are very, VERY few superheroes that exist that aren't white or male, and children of every identity need superheroes that represent them, to make them feel brave and invincible too. The fact that Traction Man had to "save" three Dollies, who were presented nude, shows the women as weak and "in distress." The only other female characters in the story are the mother and the grandmother of the boy, and the woman's work (knitting) that the grandma does is disrespected and put down. I tried to see beyond these aspects, but this book show more sums up what children's books shouldn't be, regardless if it's only meant to be simple fun or about bravery or what have you. Children get enough of oppression everywhere else, so children's books should try to fight against that. I would not recommend this book. show less

Can't we have a boys' book that doesn't hate girls? Naked Barbies and a cupcake need to be rescued, and Grandma's knitted creations are not appreciated (but the fake thank yous keep her knitting year after year). Too bad, because it is a cute ode to the imagination and not overly violent or filled with villains.

LOVED this. It is more episodic than full narrative, but one could make an argument that the climax is when Traction Man is faced with the one challenge that he may not be able to overcome—the all-in-one knitted green romper suit and matching bonnet (made by Granny). With the help of his faithful pet Scrubbing Brush, Traction Man finally deals with the suit and we know he will go on to save another day. Both the text and art are incredibly funny and clever and the whole book is imaginative and just an overall treat to read.

I distinctly remembered reviewing this book, but I did not find the review here. That was because I actually reviewed it on Ravelry.com of all places! So here's my copy, paste and edit!

This past December, I got derailed by one of my grandsons and discovered that Venom, Spiderman, and Carnage needed Nonna to knit Toy Santa Hats so they could join in the family Christmas picture.

There was a lot of talk about whether Venom and Carnage have ears needing hats to keep them warm. Consensus, no ears. (Nonna is keeping quiet and not offering an opinion.) Further consensus: even earless sentient alien symbiotes need warm hats. (Nonna thinks probably true.)

They don’t really look like happy Christmas types. A nice warm hat should cheer them show more up.

Knitting Santa hats for alien symbiotes left me feeling sort of like I’m cosplaying Gramma in the wonderful book Traction Man is Here by Mini Grey. Gramma apparently just cannot stop knitting and proudly enlivens Christmas for her grandson and his action figure by knitting hideously coloured onesie long underwear (and matching bonnet, yikes) for Traction Man. Who, like any right thinking action hero, hates the garment, but wears it because children and toys have to do things like that.

The onesie, under heavy use in our hero’s daily life (diving, climbing, and whatnot) starts to unravel, but turns out to be very useful indeed when Traction Man needs a long piece of sturdy rope for a rescue.

Back in our own fantasy world, Nonna's knitting proliferated. Unlike the onesie and bonnet, the Santa hats were welcomed and Venom, Spidey, and Miles Morales wore their hats happily through the season. Spidey asked for a sack to cosplay Santa; Venom tagged along in the role of Krampus; and Miles did his Santa visits on dragonback. Carnage as per usual was not very cooperative! show less

This book was so charming! I'm glad I used this book to do my visual literacy assignment because I learned so much about the story from doing so. I like that there is a balance between realism and surrealism within the story. I also enjoyed that Traction Man maintains some of his doll features while he's on his adventures. With respect to the style of writing, it read almost like an advertisement for the action figure, which I found to be very amusing, how an action figure would have his adventures in an average home, fighting with brooms and saving spoons and scrubbing brushes. In the classroom, this would make for a great read aloud.

Another reviewer described the captivated reaction by children hearing her read Traction Man is Here! I'm always looking for good read-aloud possibilities, so I added it to my list. This week, I treated library visitors to readings of this book and, sure enough, they were enthralled. I love the way that household routines and activities become a springboard for adventures with action-hero Traction Man and his faithful pet, Scrubbing Brush.