Timo's Party

by Victoria Allenby, Dean Griffiths (Illustrations)

Big parties make Timo's fur stand on end. But hosting one might be the key to helping his friend Hedgewick's culinary dreams come true; a famous food critic is coming to town, and an apple festival in Timo's orchard would be just the thing to showcase Hedgewick's cooking. So the introverted rabbit begins to prepare the party, one invitation, decoration and arrangement at a time. But when the big day arrives, will the support from his friends and his belief in Hedgewick's cooking be enough to impress Madame LaPointe? With innovative text inserts reflecting invitations and news articles, and Dean Griffiths' expressive full-color illustrations, Timo's Party offers a friendly world and relatable problems for young readers to navigate. In this sequel to Victoria Allenby's Timo's Garden, an encouraging cast of friends helps Timo work past his fears to make Hedgewick's cooking and the Apple Festival a scrumptious success! Also included is a recipe for a delicious apple cake that will inspire children to give hosting a try for themselves.

Genres: Animals

48 pages, Hardcover

Published September 4, 2017

About the author

Victoria Allenby dictated her first picture book to her mother at the age of two. Since then she has learned to write things down herself, and today makes a living as a freelance writer and editor. She lives in Toronto with Cole, a cat who thinks he is much more interesting than laptops and books.

Reviews

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Timo's friend, Hedgewick, is hoping for an opportunity to show off his baking skills to a visiting food critic, so Timo agrees to host an apple festival in his orchard and invite the entire town. But Timo gets nervous at large parties, and he worries that he will not be a good host.

As Timo prepares the invitations, decorations, and games, his friends give him advice about how to host a party and talk to people with ease. Meanwhile, Hedgewick is baking and cooking and chopping apples in a storm of delicious recipes.

My favorite line in this book is "The orchard was as quiet as a wish". I just love the graceful writing style. Even a simple children's book becomes an absolute delight with writing like this! The story is sweet and tender. I love the sweet characters! Each animal character is so adorable and friendly.

I just adore Timo's character. He loves to make lists. He is industrious, and works hard to help his friends. He worries about not living up to social expectations. He's determined and friendly and sweet. The character development is wonderful too!

One thing that makes this book really special is the recipe in the back for an apple-banana cake just like in the story. I just love little details like that!

I love the beautiful illustrations! The gentle lines and bright colors really draw you into the story. I love the detail on the animals' fur. The artwork is clear and lovely.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

[Marilyn (not getting notifications) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of Timo's Party by Victoria Allenby in a goodreads give away in exchange for an honest review. I thought that this was a well written child's early chapter book. The main character, Timo, a well liked friend of many of the other animal neighbors that lived in Toadstool Corners, wanted to help his friend Hedgewick, an aspiring and up and coming chef. Madame LaPointe, a famous food critic was coming to Toadstool Corners and Hedgewick wanted to impress her with his cooking so he might be discovered and become a famous chef. Timo offered to help his friend by throwing a party at his house and inviting Madame LaPoint so she could sample Hedgewick's cooking. The problem was that Timo loathed parties. He was excessively shy and nervous around large crowds of people. However, with the help of his many friends, Timo put his fears behind him so that he could be a good friend and give his friend, Hedgewick the opportunity he deserved. Victoria Allenby helps young readers realize that sometimes we have to step out of our own comfort zones in order to help others. She was able to help young readers learn that being a good friend is not always easy but the end results can be rewarding. I totally enjoyed reading this book and loved the illustrations as well. I plan on sharing Timo's Party with some of my first grade students. It was so good to have the opportunity to read Timo's Party.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although Timo hates big gatherings, and being the host for a party is his worst nightmare, he ends up conquering his fears on behalf of his friend Hedgewick. Hedgewick is a talented chef, and he wants to gain the attention of a food critic who will be traveling to their town. When Timo suggests that they could celebrate apples, Hedgewick leaps to the conclusion that Timo will host a party, and Timo doesn't want to disappoint his friend. Step by step, he conquers his fears over getting everything ready, and with the help of other friends, the invitations, decorations, and set-up all go according to plans. Young readers will enjoy reading this title alone or as a read aloud, and they will smile at its conclusion while appreciating Timo's generosity. The colorful illustrations work well to show off the characters' personalities.

[Kim Bakos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a great chapter book for kids. It is also engaging enough to be read to kids who are too young to read on their own yet.
Timo is a rabbit who is afraid of heights and of being in a crowd. But he has lots of friends who help him with his party, and help him become more confident in his social skills, too.
This story shows how friends can help each other in various ways - doing things for one another, giving advice, and encouraging each other. These are all skills that kids can hope to gain, and ways that they can be friends themselves.
Although the characters are animals, many of them have names that are representative of various ethnicities. I like how it introduces these names without the "matching" faces so that kids can begin to see any name as a "normal" name. Timo, Suki, and Madame LaPointe are some of the names in this story.

[Amanda Crumley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute book with beautiful pictures !! My 8 years old daughter read it to me and she enjoyed the story very much !! I received this from Goodreads for a review ty

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice chapter book with simple chapters and a story that deals with real anxieties. I liked it a lot.

[Laura Bowman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Timo's Party is a very sweet little chapter book about Timo the Rabbit and Bogs the Hedgehog. The two catch word that a reputable food critic will be in town, and Timo, somewhat reluctantly, ends up throwing an Apple Festival in his orchard so his friend Bogs can cook a large meal for the food critic. Along the way, Timo not only helps his good friend but also learns a bit about what it takes to be a good host.

Griffiths' delightful illustrations are boldly colourful (strongly evoking the fall season) and highly expressive. The texture in Griffiths' art is outstanding, and the illustrations are often humourous, adding to the moments of irony and repetition in the story.

Allenby has managed to create a story about garden mammals that is unique. Timo stands out from Franklin or Pooh Bear, but young readers who are fans of Franklin, Winnie the Pooh, or Beatrix Potter's tales, will surely fall in love with Timo and his friends.

[Barbra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Timo knows Hedgewick’s cooking is the best, so when he gets a chance to help him get recognition from a famous food critic he makes all the party preparations. The problem is he also has to communicate and be a good host himself. For young readers six to nine who want to read a chapter book the content is set perfectly for their maturity level.