Toy Story: Toys that Go Bump in the Night

Annie Auerbach's Toy Story: Toys that Go Bump in the Night is a funny bedtime story for 6 year olds about a stormy night in Andy's room.

What happens

Andy's away at a sleepover, so the toys have the whole night to themselves. Mr. Spell wants a spelling bee (Hamm says no, because Mr. Spell always wins). Slinky Dog suggests hide-and-seek, but Rex doesn't like small dark places.

Then the rain starts lashing the window and lightning flashes across the sky. What could be more perfect for scary stories?

Everyone has a go. Buzz tells one about a planet full of six-headed aliens, which the Little Green Aliens take quite personally. Rex describes the most ferocious dinosaur ever, roars, and then frightens himself. Woody's haunted house tale is so good that Hamm's coins start rattling.

Then it's lights out. But Rex can't sleep. There's a GRRRRR from somewhere beneath the bed, then a BUMP, then a rumble that "sounds hungry". Rex faints clean away.

So Woody wakes Buzz, Buzz reads the intruder its rights, and Sarge sends in the Green Army Men. I won't spoil what's really under there (it's a very Toy Story answer). But it's a gentle, giggly ending with nothing truly scary about it.

It's a short read, so it's perfect for one bedtime. It's also a lovely one for a child who's a bit nervous of the dark. The toys get properly spooked, and the whole story is about finding out that the scary noise was never scary at all.

The characters sound just like they do on screen. Buzz is pompous, Woody is patient, Hamm is sarcastic and Rex is Rex. If your reader already loves the films, they'll hear every line in the right voice.

There's lots of noise to enjoy reading aloud too. The GRRRRR, the BUMP and Sarge shouting "Push, men! Push!" are made for a grown-up doing the voices.

What to read next

If they enjoy a mystery that turns out to be a cosy surprise, Annie Auerbach also wrote Bambi: The Winter Trail. Bambi and Thumper follow a line of footprints through the snow, asking every animal they meet who made them.