Tops in Toys: The Marvelous Toy by Tom Paxton

IT WENT ZIP! WHEN IT MOVED.

AND BOP! WHEN IT STOPPED.

AND WHIRR! WHEN IT STOOD STILL.

I NEVER KNEW JUST WHAT IT WAS,

AND I GUESS I NEVER WILL.

Tom Paxton's The Marvelous Toy (Imagine, 2009) is a jolly do-over of his famous folk-style song about the hand-me-down toy with a new life in its second generation of playmates. Illustrated vividly by Steve Cox, this version retells the story of that beloved and inexplicable device, a fascinating toy which never seems to do the same thing twice. Moving in unexpected directions, sprouting a rainbow of indescribable lights and sounds, the thing seems to have a life of its own.

Daddy nonchalantly watches the boy's surprise. It was his toy once, and now he's passing it along, mystery and all. And when the toy seems to vanish from under the chair where it has marched, Daddy just laughs. Not to worry, for...

WHEN I TURNED AROUND, MY MARVELOUS TOY

CAME CHUGGING FROM BEHIND.

With its own CD of this and two other of Paxton's children's songs on board, this beloved tune gets a new life, in this new edition of The Marvelous Toy passed down from one generation to another just like the memorable plaything in the title, reminding us that sometimes a well-loved toy is the best gift.