KIONNA HALL
Most children love being gifted with toys. But there are those who, when the novelty wears off, tend to stop taking care of them. After witnessing this, award-winning actress Penelope Spencer was inspired to write Toy Troubles – a story of an attempt by Barbie and Gameboy to cancel Christmas after years of mistreatment from children. Teddy, a newbie who takes his role as a toy very seriously, finds out about the strike and does everything in his power to end it.
“I witnessed children ill-treating their toys and then in other areas I saw how they longed for toys and how they would make anything out of toys and that was more appreciated,” Spencer told Newsday.
Toy Troubles was written two years ago, and after being read publicly by various media personalities, Spencer was encouraged to create a book. Last year comedienne Nikki Crosby read the story for her educational-needs fundraiser titled Aunty Nikki’s 12 Days of Christmas Stories.
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The story was also read by radio host Michelle Borel at Camp Tippi Tambo, a virtual vacation camp hosted by actress Cecilia Salazar and Spencer.
The book was edited by children’s book author Mary Cuffy, and illustrated and published by the Virago Global Publishing Company.
“The way we treat our toys is how we treat our things as adults so it’s important that we learn to use them properly,” Spencer said. She hopes Teddy will be one of the most relatable characters because of his inspiring nature, and that more children would be encouraged to read and write their own stories.
“I’ve seen the progress of the ones who read and the ones who didn’t,” and she urges parents to “please invest in your children’s reading, so much can be learned.”
Spencer wants to use her years of experience in local theatre and film production to produce a children’s musical based on the story.
Toy Troubles is 19 pages long and targets children ages three to ten. It is available at Nigel R Khan Booksellers.
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