The Toy Brother

by William Steig

Yorick Bede has always considered his younger brother Charles a first-rate pain in the pants, and Charles thinks the same of Yorick. One day Yorick plays with his alchemist father's potions, and he accidentally shrinks himself to the size of a cockroach. Now suddenly Charles is the big brother. Though it's tempting to leave Yorick as a shrunken version of himself to teach him a lesson, Charles and the rest of the Bede family protect Yorick and tinker with more and more potions until they find the right one to bring back him back to his normal size.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Jewish, Medieval, Family

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

William Steig was born in New York City in 1907. In a family where every member was involved in the arts, it was not surprising that Steig became an artist.

He published his first children's book, Roland the Minstrel Pig, in 1968, embarking on a new and very different career.

Steig's books reflect his conviction that children want the security of a devoted family and friends. When Sylvester, Farmer Palmer, Abel, Pearl, Gorky, Solomon, and Irene eventually get home, their families are all waiting, and beginning with Amos & Boris, friendship is celebrated in story after story.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/willia...

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is set in the time of the Alchemist and looks vaguely medieval Europe. A mom and pop leave to go to a wedding leaving their 2 sons behind and a stern warning to stay out of his laboratory. Yorick wants to prove how good he is at alchemy and the first thing he does is go in and make a potion. Charles finds his older brother about the size of a roach. He loves this and he makes him a house and he enjoys having a toy brother. The father, finally figures out how to undo the potion at the end, certainly.

The best line is the last line of the story. It rings of truth: “The 2 brothers sincerely appreciated each other now. Except when they were having a fight.” That about sums up siblings.

The nephew thought it would be cool to shrink his sister for a day. Then he could boss her around and she could live in her doll house. He thought that would be fun. He loved this idea and he gave it 4 stars.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I'll take care of you as long as I live. Even after I get married, whether my wife likes it or not.... So don't worry your little noggin."

"There the truly wise alchemist took his original formula for restoring his son's stature and added pot cheese to counteract the ginger."

Steig does not underestimate children. He delights in turns of phrase, dramatic themes, and juicy vocabulary words. I adored the few of his books that I had access to when I was a child. He should definitely be remembered for more than Shrek and Sylvester!

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have yet to read a William Steig book I didn't love! He's a master story-teller.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story, great illustration. So cute.

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a perceptive story about the nuances of a relationship between two brothers, and the complications that arise when the natural order of seniority is superseded by an abnormal occurrence.

Yorick, the older brother, is interested in following in his father's footsteps as an alchemist. His brother Charles has different goals in mind for himself, and though he wishes that he had a closer relationship with Yorick, their personal dissimilarities tend to separate the two.

When their parents leave on a trip, Yorick accidentally mixes together a "recipe" that causes him to become miniature, and all of the sudden Charles is, pragmatically speaking, the "big" brother. Charles wants to help restore Yorick to his former size, but part of him also wants to keep his brother the size of a doll, giving Charles the dominant position in their relationship and allowing him to mandate how they interact with each other.

It soon becomes apparent, though, that Yorick will always be in danger at his current size. The brothers decide to wait for help until their father comes home from his trip, but...will he be able to return Yorick to his natural size?

In my thinking, the strength of this book lies primarily in the deep, innocent sense of protection that Charles shows for his "little" brother. Yorick hasn't been very warm to his brother, but Charles seems willing to devote his future to keeping Yorick safe from the dangers inherent as a tiny human being. This brave loyalty gives focus to the story and provides the most memorable moments in The Toy Brother. I would probably give one and a half stars to this book.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brothers Yorick and Charles Bede have never really gotten along, and Yorick typically avoids his younger brother. But while their parents are away, the two boys learn to appreciate each other more after Yorick makes a mistake in their father's lab and shrinks himself. Suddenly, Charles has the upper hand, and Yorick must depend on him. Charles realizes that Yorick's diminutive size leaves him at risk for all sorts of dangers. The two try to find an antidote, but are unsuccessful. Although their father eventually figures out what to do when he returns, they have a new appreciation for one another after this frightening experience. After all, no one wants to be that small in a world of much larger humans. There's something simply delightful about the text and the illustrations that made me smile, possibly because so many children dream of what life might be like if they were much smaller or much taller.

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fun picture book tells the story of an experiment gone wrong and of a brother who promises to protect his older sibling forever. Yorick is the older son of a medieval alchemist and considers his younger brother, Charles, to be quite annoying. When Yorick sneaks into his father's lab and accidently shrinks himself to the size of a small toy, at first Charles is excited to be able to play with his "little" older brother. But when efforts to bring Yorick back to his original size fail, the whole family begins to plan all of the ways they can help him. This would be a fun story to talk about problem and solution in narratives and it also might inspire young writers to write their own stories about failed experiments that bring about crazy changes.

[Cheriee Weichel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I needed a picture book to teach the basics of a book report. (The classroom teacher had left one of those paper cubes to fill out.) The gender norms are a bit dated, but it’s still a classic full of all kinds of weirdness and humour. It fit my needs perfectly. Magnus Bede is an apothecary. When he and his wife, Eutilda, are away, his older son, Yorick, ends up disobeying him and while experimenting in the lab, shrinks himself. The younger son, Charles, finally has Yorick’s undivided attention, but It looks like there might be stuck that way forever!

[Cana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cana (5) says: I wish Finny (3) was tiny. He could live in his dollhouse. It's nice.

Mommy says: Hmm, this book intended to dissolve some of the sibling rivalry in which my two engage, seems to have just given them new ideas to torture each other with. Cute tale about a curious, misbehaving big brother who accidentally shrinks himself, and the little brother who tries to help and takes care of him.

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is a little long for the pre-school story time crowd but I couldn't resist including it in our "Sibling-itis" theme program. To my surprise, the children all paid very close attention to this tale of big-bully-brother Yorick, an aspiring alchemist child prodigy, who shrinks himself to the size of Thumbelina. Doting little brother Charles is delighted, of course, but concedes that the risk of accident outweighs the fun of being in charge.

[Kate Foran · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I love about William Steig is the fun he has with words--and that he does it in a way that is accessible to children and so enjoyable to read aloud.

This book is silly and sweet and so weird--and my kid (5 yo) loved it. She stuck with all the twisty turns of phrase and plot and had lots of ideas about how to deal with the toy brother problem.

It's not a top 5 Steig book, but it's a great one.

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This paperback reprint includes the original text and illustrations. Steig’s storytelling skills carried throughout his career to his final works, as he creates memorable characters and uses humor to tell an entertaining tale. The full-color illustrations feature expressive characters that enhance the text. A nice biography of the author is included. Children ages 4-8 will appreciate the sibling dynamics and entertainment factor incorporated into this story.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another quirky gem from Steig. This one's sillier than some of his others, but even at his silliest, he's dropping in literary allusions (like the names Bede and Yorick) and using fun language like "palsy-walsy" and saying the family "raced around like maniacs."

Not many children's stories that center on alchemy, either. Gotta love this guy.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute.

[Worm · Rating 4 out of 5]

"...it was all just as real as peas and beans." genius.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite comical--fun addition to unit on Middle Ages. Love William Steig's unique stories.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do enjoy a book without a moral.

[Gillian Brownlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit tough for my sister, but I had fun.

[Catherine Martin27]

One of the funniest, wittiest books about siblings ever written/drawn. The Bedes, medieval alchemist Magnus and his wife Eutilda, go off on a journey leaving their two sons alone with the firm warning: don't mess around in the lab. Of course the older brother can't resist, and soon has accidentally been "transmogrified" into a tiny version of his former self. Delight gleams in the younger brother's eyes as he takes his time coping with this turn of events. After a week the parents return and view their minuscule son ("Alackaday," murmurs Mr. Bede sorrowfully), and Eutilda becomes absorbed in sewing tiny clothes and baking tiny pies for her son until finally things are set right.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like William Steig so I was excited to pick this book up at our local library. I liked the book but wasn't as thrilled with it as I would have liked. It is certainly an accurate exploration of sibling relationships, but it just wasn't what I was hoping nor expecting.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yet another great one by William Steig. We learned that out of the many books he has written, he only wrote five in which the characters are human. I don't think humans are his strong suit, but we still enjoyed this at my house. Charles' love for his big brother breaks my heart just a little.

[Karin Adams]

A good story with fun illustrations. This is one of those stories that uses some words or phrases that children might not understand, but they'll still understand the story.

[Edmund Davis-Quinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely little book, I like Steig's sense of humor.

Looking forward to reading some more picture books.

[Damore · Rating 1 out of 5]

Our history curriculum recommended this book as a read aloud to accompany our readings about the Middle Ages. What a weird story.

[Desi A · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little awkward as a read-aloud, but a funny story.

[SBC · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was unusual. The language and humour were both very high-blown and archaic as well as complicated. The older brother through the magic of alchemy changes himself into a toy-sized person and his younger brother has to take care of him. They all consider becoming small but realise they have to be big because someone has to take care of them all. A story about brotherly relationships and the importance of being big (growing up eventually).

[Jamie Yonker · Rating 5 out of 5]

On my journey to read every William Steig children’s book and this didn’t disappoint. Some great, big words too! I love how William Steig writes family. Bickering, messy, but full of love and loyalty. And yknow what — I wouldn’t mind a shrunken ittybitty sibling that could fit in my pocket either. I get it. I get it!

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A medieval-inspired story about an alchemist's son who gets into his father's lab when his parents are away, and accidentally shrinks himself to the size of a doll - his younger brother plays with him like a doll - and he can't seem to come up with an antidote to turn him back!

[Caroline K. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not impressed with this book. The illustrations are mediocre and the story does not flow well or spark the imagination. Certain phrases seemed out of place or tossed in at random - “palsy-walsy” “squoze” “as real as peas and beans” etc. Not my preference.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two brothers are left alone for the weekend and one of them accidently shrinks himself. can they get him back to normal size. One on one for length. older audiences.