Oddkins: A Fable for All Ages by Dean Koontz

First let me thank Netgalley and Open Road Media for letting me read this e-galley.  I guess I didn't quite read exactly what this was when I requested it.  I saw Dean Koontz and "Odd" as part of the title, and just assumed it was going to be part of Koontz's Odd Thomas series, maybe a prequel, or a young adult level novel.  But it wasn't.  And this isn't a new release, it was actually released back in 1988.  I'd never heard of it though.  And, it's not related to Odd Thomas in anyway.  :-(  But, that's not to say it isn't an okay story.  

This is definitely a kids book.  It is about a bunch of toys that are alive.  They are created by a toymaker named Bodkins.  When he dies, it is a bit unexpected, and he is not able to get in contact with the toymaker who is supposed to take over for him.  But it needs to be done quickly, because in the cellar, below the basement of the toy factory, there are evil toys.  While Mr. Bodkins' toys are alive so that they can help kids who have need of a good friend, these evil toys are created alive so that they can go out and hurt kids, and make their lives miserable.  And the evil master, seeming to be maybe the devil according to the book, has found just the perfect person to take over the factory.  A criminal just set loose from jail.

The toys, led by Amos, a stuffed bear, must find the new toymaker. But on their journey, they encounter the evil toys set out to destroy them.  It's a long journey with lots of trials, and it is hard for all the toys to make it without any losses.  But this new toymaker, if reached in time, can help to save them, and keep the evil toys from completing their task of returning the toy factory to its former evil state.

A good story for maybe 4th and 5th grade students.  Scary at times.  Glad I got to read it.